2839. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her plan, timeline and cost for continued expansion of respite services, including alternative respite options such as 500 new community-based residential care places to replace disability care in large institutional and campus-based settings and around 900 additional residential care places to tackle unmet need and ensure supply keeps pace with demographic change as promised in the action plan and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59954/26]

As part of the annual Estimates process, engagement is currently underway and ongoing between the Department of Children, Disability and Equality, the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation and the Health Service Executive in respect of the funding requirements for 2027, for a range of Specialist Disability Services including traditional overnight respite and alternative respite services, as well as residential placements.

The Department of Children, Disability and Equality continues to engage with the HSE, to expand and develop respite and residential services for people with disabilities. Approximately €3.9 billion of funding has been allocated to Specialist Disability Services in 2026, representing a 20% increase on the previous year.

In Budget 2026, €25m in new development funding was secured for respite, this has afforded the HSE the opportunity to plan for the expansion of services with a range of respite initiatives underway expected to deliver in the region of 10,000 additional overnight sessions and 25,000 additional day sessions this year.

The HSE’s National Service Plan targets a total of 175,000 overnight respite sessions and 91,000 day-only respite sessions delivered to 7,332 people in 2026. As of the end of Q2 2026, 91,758 overnight and 41,351 day respite sessions were delivered. Both DCDE and the HSE are well aware that demand for respite far exceeds the current capacity, and there is constant hard work and innovation put in to increasing the supply of services available to the children and adults who need them. The respite target set out in the Action Plan for Disability is to build the capacity for overnight and alternative respite, with an additional capacity of around a third delivered over the lifetime of the plan. Overnight respite provision increased by 24% from 2023 to the end of 2025, while the number of day sessions delivered increased by 170% in this same time.

Summer months can be a very difficult period for caregivers, particularly for those with disabled children, due to the disruption of education or day services. This year, in addition to broadening access and increasing activity for overnight respite and day sessions, the HSE planned an expanded summer programme of respite initiatives nationally and offered €5 million of their new development budget for 2026 to support this. The Summer Respite Initiative represented a significant and targeted investment to enhance respite provision nationwide. It highlighted a continued focus on innovation, collaboration, and quality in service delivery, while ensuring that the needs and voices of individuals with disabilities and their families remain central to all supports.

The initiatives supported covered a wide range of activities including community inclusion and social participation initiatives, specialist summer camps, short-break and overnight respite provision, life skills, independence and transition supports, outdoor learning and physical activity, art, music, culture and STEM initiatives. The HSE has reported that initial feedback that this programme has been very positive and far-reaching.

Residential services make up the largest part of the Disability funding disbursed by the HSE, almost 60% of the total budget. Since 2020, additional funding provided to the HSE has supported the creation of over a thousand additional residential places for people with disabilities. As of June 2026, 8,991 specialist disability residential places are being delivered the HSE and approximately 90 service providers. Demand for residential placements is extremely high and exceeds that which can be currently provided; the Disability Capacity Review addressed unmet and demographic need, which the Action Plan for Disability Services aims to address. The Disability Capacity Review has projected a need for a minimum of circa 100 new residential places every year from 2020 to 2032 arising from changes in the size and age-structure of the relevant disability population.

In recognition of the high demand for these services, €65m has been allocated to Disability Residential Services in 2026 for new developments, which includes €40m of funding that will provide in the region of 199 new residential responses. This includes 152 newly created residential placements consisting of 72 planned placements and 80 (Priority 1) new placements to meet urgent need, as outlined in the HSE’s National Service Plan for 2026. Funding will also support new residents in existing placements that have become vacant and require enhancement and in limited circumstances, placements in nursing home settings.

The remaining €25m consists of €6m to support 40 residential packages for children in care with complex needs, in coordination with Túsla, €6m to enhance 38 existing residential placements for individuals whose support needs have increased, €3m for decongregation, to support the transition of 58 people from congregated settings to more appropriate homes in the community, and €10m to further support the HSE's U65s programme which relates to people under the age of 65, currently living in Nursing Homes. This includes €8m to support the transition of 45 people who are inappropriately placed in a nursing home to transition to more appropriate living arrangements, and €2m to enhance quality of life for those remaining in nursing homes.