Kathleen Funchion: Families pushed to residential care by service gaps
Deputy Kathleen Funchion spoke about services for children with disabilities, warning that insufficient respite and patchy local services are driving some families to consider residential care. She highlighted staffing shortfalls in Carlow and Kilkenny and raised concerns about changes to the July Provision that have put the programme under pressure.
Respite demand and family impact
People are reaching breaking point and are often seeking only minimal respite - maybe one overnight or one day in the space of two to three months. Funchion said those small supports can be the difference between a child remaining at home in their community and a family turning to residential services out of sheer exhaustion.
Local staffing shortages
Funchion described access to disability services in Carlow and Kilkenny as patchy and gave a Carlow example where 23 full-time positions exist but only 10.5 are filled. She stressed that such staffing gaps directly undermine families' ability to access regular respite and support.
July Provision changes
She warned that a recent change in eligibility criteria for the July Provision has placed the programme under serious pressure and has been highlighted at the Autism Committee. Funchion said many schools are opting out for a range of issues and urged action to ensure children with the greatest level of need can attend.
Appeal to the minister
While commending the work of her colleague and acknowledging the minister's passion, Funchion insisted that failings must be laid at the minister's and the government's door. She called on the minister to secure staffing and school participation so vital supports reach children and families and prevent unnecessary moves to residential care.
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Thanks very much, Cathaoirleach. I want to commend my own colleague, Deputy Tully, in relation to this area, as our spokesperson on disability, she has done huge work in this area, and I also do want to acknowledge that you are here yourself, Minister, and I know that you are passionate about this as well, but we do have to highlight when there are failings, as my colleague Deputy Cullinan has said, we have to lay that at your door and at the government's door. I am specifically going to speak about services for children this evening, in the short time that I have. I think that we know that a lot of families get to a point where they consider residential care, not because they want it, but because they get to breaking point, and they do not see an alternative for them, and respite, and the families that I am dealing with, and that we are all dealing with, they are looking for such a little amount to begin with. People are coming in looking for maybe one overnight, maybe one day in the space of two to three months. They are not big asks, and I would say that it is after housing in the constituency office, it is the number one query that we deal with, and it really can make such a vital difference to families, and specifically to children, that they get to stay in their own home, surrounded by their families, surrounded by their community, where it is, whereas it gets to a point sometimes for families where they look at residential because it is a breaking point. In Carlow and Kilkenny, in particular, I would say access to disability services is patchy, and that is putting it nicely. We have a situation in Carlow, for example, where there is 23 full-time positions, and only 10 and a half of those are filled, which I am always amazed at exactly how a half a position can be filled, how can you have a half a person, but I just want to stress that access and respite on a regular basis can mean the difference between a person remaining in their home. As I said, out of sheer exhaustion, sometimes families look at residential services. I would also briefly like to mention in the time I have remained in July provision, the programme is an absolute godsend for parents, and it did undergo a recent change in eligibility criteria, which I think has put the programme under serious pressure, and this was highlighted in depth at the Autism Committee. I am concerned to learn that many schools are opting out of the programme due to a range of issues, and I think we really need to try and do something, particularly in relation to staff, and I would encourage the Minister to ensure that the schools are ensuring children with the greatest level of need can access that programme, because again, that is another vital service, and again, it is children that we are failing, and we should be doing absolutely everything we can for our children to reach their potential.
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