Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 February 2026
158. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if there are additional supports available to assist with ageing parents of adult children with intellectual disabilities, as represented by the Before We Die campaign; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13271/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis Government recognises the vital work carried out by family carers of people with disabilities. It recognises too the importance of the voice of the person with the disability and that they may have certain wishes about their own future.
I recognise the concerns raised by the members of the Before We Die Campaign and greatly value the voices of family carers and the insight they provide. I recently met the campaign group, along with Department officials to discuss their campaign and advocate for their children's futures, as well as the need for more support to be provided to family carers in order for them to continue to be able to carry out this vital work.
This Government acknowledges the ongoing work of the Before We Die group, in advocating for increases in the provision of residential services for people with disabilities and to bring awareness to the issues many of the parents involved are facing.
The Programme for Government commits to develop a multi-year capital plan for investment in residential and independent living options for both adults and children, and to tackle waiting lists for specialist disability services by implementation of the Action Plan for Disability Services 2024-6, and resourcing and delivering on its targets.
There are currently a number of supports available to assist ageing parents in supporting their adult children with disabilities. These supports include day services, respite services, home support services, personal assistance and residential supports.
These supports are aimed at supporting people with disabilities to remain in their family homes for as long as they and their families wish. However, I acknowledge that in most cases, a person with an intellectual disability will require full-time residential care once their primary carer is no longer able to.
The Department of Children, Disability and Equality, alongside the HSE, is continuing to work to increase provision in order to assist those who are most vulnerable in our society, and who urgently require services.
The HSE, together with approximately 90 service providers are providing 8,911 residential places to people with disabilities. From 2020 to 2025, 955 new residential places have been provided to people with disabilities.
In Budget 2026, approximately €3.8 billion of funding has been allocated to Specialist Disability Service’s. In addition to funding ongoing residential placements for almost 9000 current residents, €65m has been allocated to Disability Residential Services in 2026 for new developments, which includes €40m of funding that will provide in the region of 199 residential responses. This includes 72 new planned placements and 80 new unplanned urgent placements, a total of 152 new placements, as outlined in the HSE’s National Service Plan for 2026.
The 2026 National Service Plan includes details of a move towards a more planned and responsive system of service provision and includes an increased emphasis on longer term planning for residential placements, with strengthened operational processes being put in place to respond to the current high demand.
Funding of €25m has been provided in 2026 in order to increase the provision of respite services, including 10,000 additional respite overnights, and 25,000 additional day only respite sessions. Additionally, in 2026, €12.09m has been provided in order to increase the provision of Home support and Personal assistance hours for people with disabilities. Funding for these measures will help to assist people with disabilities who have ageing parents and require supports in order to have more independence in their daily lives.
It is important to note that currently, demand for residential placements is extremely high and exceeds that which can be currently provided. The provision of residential services has come under increasing pressure in the past few years due to a number of impacting factors. This Government is actively working to address these challenges in order to provide people with disabilities with the services that they require.
The HSE and service providers are experiencing ongoing challenges recruiting and retaining staff across the disability sector. The HSE is also reporting changing support needs of current service users, resulting in increased costs for additional adaptions and services to meet changing needs. The cost of new residential placements has increased significantly over the last few years. The average full year cost of a new placement increased by 39% between 2019 and 2025. The availability of suitable housing also presents a challenge.
In order to address issues in relation to availability of suitable housing, the Department is engaging with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Housing Authorities, and the HSE, to explore means of responding to the need for additional capacity, which can assist forward planning and cost-effective placements.
To address these issues and increase the capacity of service providers, the HSE with the support of the Department of Children, Disability and Equality have initiated a number of actions including the significant increase in investment in Disability Services in 2026. A key focus in 2026 will be to ensure the budget meets the real cost of service, ensuring a stable base upon which to plan and expand services now and into the future.
Additionally, the department is continuing to engage with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to improve access to capital for service providers through local authority funding schemes.
The HSE Disability programme leads are developing a procurement framework for residential placements with for-profit agencies which will focus primarily on purchasing placements on a group basis. This is expected to improve the ability of the HSE to negotiate more cost-effective placements.
