Respite care services ‘vary widely across the country’

THERE are huge gaps in the provision of respite care across the country for people with disabilities, the Irish Daily Mail can reveal.

An analysis of figures obtained by Fianna Fáil’s spokesperson for disabilities, Margaret Murphy O’Mahony TD, shows significant variations in the level of respite services offered, with the border region so far receiving none of the additional funding awarded to the sector.

Respite care is an overnight stay at an institution to give relief for a carer – in this case, a family member looking after someone with autism or sensory deprivation.

Last year, Health Minister Simon Harris announced an additional €10million in funding for the HSE, specifically to enhance respite care for family members of people with disabilities.

An additional respite house was promised for each of the nine Community Healthcare Organisation (CHO) areas, which would support an additional 450 people a year.

While 169 new residential, 162 home support and 33 in-home respite places have been added nationally in the first nine months of 2018, none has been in the HSE CHO 1 region of Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, West Cavan, Cavan and Monaghan.

In contrast, the CHO 3 region of Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary received 34 new respite places between residential, home support and in-home services, despite having smaller populations.

Ms Murphy O’Mahony hit out at the HSE, saying that the provision of respite services was clearly subject to a postcode lottery.

She said: ‘It looks as if 2019 will be another challenging year for disability respite services, and the families who desperately rely on them.’