The south and south west of Donegal have been without respite services for more than a year after Seaview Respite House, Mountcharles, closed last December. The home, outside Donegal town, was owned and operated by the HSE to provide residential respite care for physically and intellectually disabled people across south-west Donegal. The HSE tendered the service initially, indicating that a full service of seven days per week would be provided by the successful applicant. However, when RehabCare was given the contract, the service was, to the despair of families across Donegal, for only five days per week, from Monday to Friday. Over 100 families were using the services for much-needed respite for themselves and those they cared for.

The transfer of services to RehabCare has been besieged by delay after delay. Seaview Respite House was due to open by the end of July this year. The opening was then extended until the end of August, then September, then November and now December. Families and service users have been without a respite service for the entire summer, a time when families spend quality time together and when holidays and outings are common.

Families were further angered when, at a public meeting I attended in recent weeks, the HSE confirmed that while the facility will be fully transferred to RehabCare in December, it will not be open for service users until 13 January 2020 and will operate for only five days per week. No one, including me, believes for a second that this deadline will be met, although we hope it will be.

Really and truly, the deadline is not the major issue. The latest setback for families comes after years of disruptions to services at the centre caused by staffing shortages and rostering issues. I have been raising these issues for many years, yet there is still no full-time respite service available for families in south-west Donegal.

The transfer of management to RehabCare was supposed to be for the benefit of all families who depend deeply on this service but even when it reopens in January, if it does, families will be provided with a restricted service once again. The main reason for the years of delays by the HSE is that it is trying to use the transition to RehabCare so as not to deal with funding requirements to address the over-expenditure in the health sector.

Families in Donegal have been through enough. It is time to address the reasons behind these delays once and for all and commit to reinstating a full-time service - not a Monday-to-Friday service, which would be basically useless, but a service for seven days per week that would be of benefit to the families and their loved ones. That is the least they deserve. Will the Government ensure that the Seaview facility opens in January and that everything will be done to ensure a seven days per week respite service will be reinstated from then on?

I thank Deputy Pringle for raising this important issue. From our constituency work, all of us will know how valuable respite services are, not just for those with disabilities but also those who care for them. Just having the opportunity to give the carer a break can be so valuable and can really help people to keep going.

Just this year alone, 164,000 respite overnights were provided by the health service and nearly 34,000 day respite sessions were provided. Therefore, there is a considerable resource being made available. There have been 165,000 respite overnights this year alone. We acknowledge, however, that there is demand for much more.

We are committed to providing services for people with disabilities that empower them to live independent lives and provide greater independence in accessing the services they choose and enhancing their ability to tailor the supports required to meet their needs and plan their lives. This commitment is outlined in the programme for Government, which is guided by two principles, namely, equality of opportunity and improving quality of life for people with disabilities. HSE disability services confirmed today that respite services will commence in Seaview House in Donegal from 13 January 2020. We acknowledge that there was a delay in opening this new facility. I am told that was due to a requirement to undertake fire compliance and maintenance work before the house could be opened. I am told that it will open on 13 January, initially on a five-day week basis, but that could be expanded at a later point subject to the availability of staff and finance.

I thank the Taoiseach for his response. Unfortunately, that is not much consolation for the families in south Donegal who had this service previously but which was withdrawn over the past year. The Taoiseach said 164,000 overnight respite services have been provided in Ireland this year. That may be, but none were provided in south Donegal in the past year. That is because the HSE did not got its finger out to deliver it and then it decided to tender the process. I believe that was so it could get out of being blamed and it could pass the blame onto somebody else.

Families must have this service at the weekends because that is when they need it. That is when other family members can have their parents to themselves when they are not busy looking after a disabled person. That is the reality of the situation for first communions and other such family events. A respite service must be provided in order for two parents to attend and the service must be available at weekends. If it is to be a five-night service it should be available from Wednesday night to Monday night and then it would be a perfect service, but that will not happen because it would cost extra money, which is unfortunately what this comes down to. I urge the Taoiseach to put the pressure on. I am sorry that it has come to this level to be raised here in this House to put pressure on to ensure that a seven-day service is provided.

This year the Government provided an extra €10 million for respite services. That sum provides for the opening of 12 new respite houses around the country, one in each region. Most are open, including the one in Sligo, but I acknowledge that the one in Donegal is not open but it will be opened in January. Initially, it will be a five-day service but it can be expanded to a seven-day service subject to the availability of staff for the weekends, as well as funding for the service.

I am told a particular issue arose in Donegal during the year when one teenager with very complex needs required a bespoke package of care, which necessitated access to three separate respite facilities on a rotational basis. The outcome of that was that respite services for Donegal were only operating at 50% capacity throughout much of the year. However, from January 2020 this service user will have their own residential placement appropriate to them and therefore it is anticipated that services for children will return to full capacity once the placement commences.