Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 29 February 2024
81. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth his plans to progress residential care accommodation in south Leitrim; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9890/24]
View answerI am asking about progress towards residential care accommodation for young adults with special needs in south Leitrim. The Minister of State has been hands on and while she attended a public meeting with all stakeholders and public representatives about 21 months ago, progress has been slow, especially when it comes to residential accommodation and parents are very concerned. I want to hear what the progress is.
The HSE informs me that planning permission has been submitted to Leitrim County Council for the development of a residential respite service in south Leitrim. It is a five-bed house that, if it works seven over seven, will add a capacity of approximately 1,800 bed nights into the system. That is very welcome and badly needed.
Additionally, HSE disability services are currently working closely with the property management section of HSE estates north west in order to identify additional suitable premises in the south Leitrim area, which can be used as long-term residential accommodation for individuals with disabilities.
The residential needs of people with disabilities in the south Leitrim area are managed through the disability services application management tool. This helps to inform national HSE of current and future residential and housing needs in the area. All south Leitrim service people with disabilities with identified residential service needs, current and future, are on the DSMAT and they and their families were supported by CHO 1 disability services to submit their applications to Leitrim County Council so that their housing needs are included on its housing list.
The CHO 1 disability services community team engages with the housing officer in Leitrim County Council on a quarterly basis in respect of the housing needs of people with disabilities. Where any housing development for people with disabilities is planned by a county council, the HSE will work with the council and an approved housing body to progress the development.
In the interim, an additional residential respite service has been procured via service arrangement and additional overnight respite is being provided in the Tullaghan respite service in Leitrim. I seem to recall from the time, and the Deputy might correct me, that that possibly was not the proper solution for all. Transport was an issue and I had asked the HSE to ensure that transport and accommodation would be facilitated.
HSE disability services, as well as managing its own directly delivered residential services, which includes allocations of vacant places as and when they arise, also engages with a number of organisations through service arrangements to deliver residential placements and will continue to do so as required.
Did the Minister of State just say that there was a planning decision from Leitrim County Council on a residential house? I thought that was on a respite house.
Residential respite.
That planning decision was due on 3 February this year. Parents are now contacting me. This is the last day of February and they are asking what is the hold-up. This is 21 months later and people are really concerned. The decision was due on 3 February. People are asking me to ask the Minister of State what is the hold-up. What is causing this delay?
I will speak more on residential accommodation in my next intervention. Many parents are really concerned about the long term for their children who are now adults with special needs. Thus far, despite the Minister of State stating there have been quarterly meetings - there have been - there is no progress on that.
I do not have the update on 3 February. The Deputy might know about that better than I as to whether planning was granted. One would hope planning permission was granted because it will add 1,800 additional bed nights capacity in the south Leitrim area and that is badly needed. Funding is ring-fenced for that development.
When I met the parents 21 months ago, we did not have a site, design or funding. Neither did we have feasibility work done on it. All that has been done now. I hope the local authority granted planning permission in order that we can now work at pace. To be fair to HSE estates, once it has its planning and all the other ducks in a row, it will be good to go. We have the funding to ensure that it can be operational as quickly as possible. It is a priority for Edel Quinn.
I am pleased to hear that and that the funding is ring-fenced. It is important to note that when the Minister of State attended that meeting, the parents and friends had already fundraised €300,000. That was already in the bank.
I have looked at the minutes of 11 different meetings in October and December 2022 and in May, June, September, November and December 2023. On discussions of residential properties, all it says is that it is advised that investigating residential properties is for follow-up. That is all it says in those minutes. Parents are really losing patience at this point because it is going on too long. Already, one of the parents of these children has died. All parents are concerned about is what will happen when they are not here. That is why they want to hear that real progress is being made.
I completely agree. Real progress is being made and that is why on 14 December both the Minister, Deputy O’Gorman, and I launched the Action Plan for Disability Services 2024-2026. It makes a commitment to 900 additional residential places and 500 as part of the decongregation programme during that time.
The local authority has a huge role to play on that. It is something we need to tease out a little further, albeit perhaps not in this forum. If you are opening a new housing estate or there is a refurbishment development taking place, there should always be a portion held for respite and residential. That is why it is so important that the families have all their loved ones on the housing waiting list. The HSE’s job should be to give the additional support required, whether independent or supported independent living.
We need local authorities, the HSE and parents to work more closely to ensure we have access to properties. There is no point putting up a 30-unit estate if we do not have the rights of persons with disabilities enshrined. I also think we will be looking at developing what we have already done with disability officers under Age Action.
I apologise to Deputy Harkin for overlooking her earlier.
The apology is noted.
Once it is only one black mark.
