82. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of disability residential and respite properties operated by the HSE, section 38 organisations and section 39 organisations which are leased or rented from private landlords; the total annual expenditure on rent or lease payments in respect of such properties in 2025 and the estimated expenditure for 2026; and the number of properties in each category at risk of lease expiry or sale within the next three years. [65596/26]

I wish to thank Deputy Quaide for raising this important question and providing me with an opportunity to speak on this matter.

With regard to the information requested, the HSE has advised that in respect of properties leased or rented from private landlords and operated by the HSE, this information is not collated centrally and the HSE will revert in due course with available data.

More broadly, with regard to residential placements for adults and children with complex disabilities, there are approximately 90 service providers providing residential services to roughly 9,000 individuals throughout the country.

As of July 2026, the majority 6,378 (71%) of these are provided by the 50 highest funded agencies, comprising of both Section 38 & Section 39 organisations. The HSE directly provides 1,054 (12%) of places, with the remaining 1,543 (17%) being provided by private providers.

The Department of Children, Disability and Equality continues to work closely with the HSE to achieve a balanced response to the demand for residential placements and a move towards planned provision and away from unplanned responses where possible.

With additional funding secured in recent Budgets, new HSE housing coordinators and residential planning and review teams will be in place this year to coordinate and oversee the delivery of the new residential placements and plan for future placements.

The HSE is also continuing to work alongside service providers in order to build the capacity of Section 38 and Section 39 organisations to deliver more residential services.

Throughout 2026, the Department is undertaking research and progressing policy development across a range of areas which will set out an ambitious and far-reaching programme of reform to improve services over time and provide an opportunity to look at how to fund and deliver services in the future.

In addition, 2026 is the first of a five-year capital investment plan out to 2030, supported by €278 million in funding secured through the National Development Plan. The HSE are currently working on drafting a disability specific multi-annual capital plan which will strategically plan for the current and future disability capital needs across the 4 pillars: Specialist Residential Care, Residential Respite, Day Services and Assessment and Multi-disciplinary Teams, as well as Infrastructure Risks and Climate Action out to 2030.

Earlier this year, €43 million in capital investment was announced for much needed disability services in 2026, the first year of the National Development Plan. This represents a substantial increase in investment when compared with capital expenditure of previous years; €27 million in 2025, €23 million in 2024, €15 million in 2023 and €5.2 million in 2022.

The growth over the last number of years, and the capital secured under the National Development Plan demonstrates the Government’s firm commitment to support and expand disability services.