Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 December 2025
10. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to urgently address the shortfall in respite beds across Kerry for both adults and children; her plans to address this issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [72807/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Programme for Government includes a commitment to continued expansion of all types of respite services, building on additional investment and progress over the last few years.
HSE South West Disability Services operate separate Children and Adult Regional Respite Forums. Each forum manages the referrals and respite service provision for the population of the region to ensure equitable access to respite services, consistent with each person’s assessed need and preference. Service provider representatives and HSE South West Disability Services personnel comprise membership of the Regional Respite Forum.
HSE South West Disability Services provide a range of respite models for children and adults. These include residential (overnight) respite centres, afterschool clubs for children and young people, in home support, outreach supports and holiday breaks for adults. These options ensure that respite is provided in the manner which best meets the needs of people and their families / carers.
Regional Health Area (RHA) HSE Southwest, which extends to the Cork and Kerry area, provided 17,181 respite overnights in 2024, 2,833 day only respite sessions and supported 760 people with a disability.
Kerry residential respite services for children aged between 6 and 18 years of age is delivered by St. John of God Services. There are two residential respite houses, one in North Kerry and one in South Kerry. Each house has 4 respite beds and operates 7 days per week with planned closures during the year. This equates to approximately 2800 respite bed nights for children every year.
A number of families have been provided with bespoke respite arrangements to support them in response to specific challenges.
Current respite provision in Kerry includes ten Adult respite beds providing respite over seven nights and a further five Adult respite beds providing respite over three nights. This delivers approximately 4200 respite bed nights for adults every year.
The HSE advise that the number of people a respite centre can accommodate at any given time is not fixed as it varies according to the complexity of clients’ needs. Within each centre, groupings and occupancy are determined by both client compatibility and the level of support required to ensure safe and appropriate care.
Alternative respite services for children in Kerry include afterschool clubs, Saturday clubs and in home support as well as support for children to access community based activities, delivered in accordance with the assessed needs and preferences of children and their families.
Alternative respite services for adults in Kerry include evening and weekend support, outreach services and holiday breaks.
