Moynihan slams low level of respite places

Cork North West TD Michael Moynihan has called on the HSE and Government to put in place more respite care places for people and children with intellectual disabilities.

Deputy Moynihan was commenting after raising the issue with the Taoiseach in the Dáil this week and the need for more places and resources for those living in North Cork.

“There is a severe scarcity of respite placements. The management at St. Joseph’s Foundation in Charleville are doing their best but unless the HSE and Government deliver the required funding, people will be left without the respite support they and their families desperately need,” said Moynihan.

“Every family is supposed to be entitled to a minimum of two weeks residential respite care per year, plus a number of additional one off nights. In too many cases, this entitlement is not being followed through on.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin also raised the need for additional funding for Section 39 organisations, such as St. Joseph’s, with the Taoiseach this week.

“The Government and the HSE need to accept that this is not an issue you can scrimp on. A failure to deliver funding will result in every more pressure on families, and that is something, I as a local TD, must shout about,” concluded Moynihan.