Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 December 2021
569. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health his response to a recommendation made by a representative body (details supplied) that day services and respite services for adults with an intellectual disability be reinstated to pre-pandemic levels. [60190/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy office received a letter from the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland on 13 November, regarding the ongoing delivery of disability services during the COVID-19 pandemic. A response was issued on 1st December to the College.
Throughout the pandemic the Government has always regarded disability services as essential to maintaining a response to people with disabilities in Ireland, and significant work has been undertaken to reopen and maintain services to the greatest extent possible.
Adult Disability Services:
In line with the Government’s Resilience & Recovery Framework (2020 – 2021) and NPHET advice on public health, disability services remained open and are deemed essential. All disability services must follow public health guidance in this area, including the prevention and management of COVID related infection.
It must be noted that it may not be possible to provide services in exactly the same way as they operated before COVID-19, because of the unpredictable nature of COVID-19 and the need to continue to protect people from infection risk. Infection prevention and control measures that have been introduced to support the safe delivery of adult disability services since the onset of COVID 19 remain in place.
Adult Day Services:
Adult day services across the country reopened at full capacity on October 22nd, in line with the government's COVID 19 response ‘Reframing the Challenge’ roadmap for the lifting of restrictions.
The quantum of day service supports have increased steadily since day services reopened in Autumn 2020. The increase in day service capacity was supported by additional funding of €30 million provided in Budget 2021 to increase capacity in buildings and provide extra staff.
Disability Respite Services:
The delivery of Respite Services continued to operate during the pandemic, albeit at a reduced capacity. Some centres remained open, while others were temporarily re-purposed as isolation facilities. The number of respite overnights operated at just over 50% of the HSE’s National Service Plan target for 2020; while the number of day only sessions operated at 62% of 2020 target. This was mainly due to necessary precautions to maintain physical distancing and to adhere to infection prevention and control requirements.
Throughout the pandemic, staff and resources associated with closed or curtailed services were redeployed where possible to support residential provision and to provide for targeted in-home, community and tele-/online supports for service users and families based on prioritised needs. The use of targeted 1:1 Home Support Hours are being offered in lieu of respite in certain circumstances, subject to appropriate risk assessment and in line with prevailing Infection, Prevention and Control guidelines.
The need for increased respite facilities is acknowledged, with €5 million in funding provided for the development of 9 new centre-based respite services in 2021.
PA and Home Support:
The number of people in receipt of PA and Home Support services remained steady throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The HSE’s priority is to continue to deliver high quality PA and Home Support Services to 10,000 people with disabilities including 1.71 million PA hours and over 3 million Home Support Hours. This includes the allocation of an additional 40,000 PA hours under Budget 2021.
