Dublin carers face losing respite due to lack of Government funding

The National Federation of Voluntary Service Providers (NFVSP) say carers face losing out on respite because of insufficient government funding to them to cover the additional costs due to Covid-19.

Dublin based St. Michael’s House, one of Ireland’s largest providers of community based services for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, is a member of the NFSVP.

The national umbrella organisation for voluntary and non-statutory agencies who provide services for people with an intellectual disability said it was “shocked” when the Government allocated just €10m for the remainder of this year to cover the pandemic costs, claiming it is just a fraction of what is required.

The chairman of the National Federation, Sean Abbott, said many respite services are closed or severely restricted in capacity because of the need to provide for isolation centres to deal with Covid-19 cases.

“Because capacity has lessened in day services to meet the requirements of social distancing, it is not possible to accommodate pre-Covid numbers in centre-based day services,” he said.

“This is driving a requirement for substantial additional staffing significantly above pre-Covid levels.

“The need for additional staffing comes on top of a range of other additional costs involved for disability service providers including minor works to improve locations, provision of isolation centres, appropriate cleaning, sanitisation and signage, initial PPE outlay, technology costs to support individuals at home and additional transport due to restrictions.”

He warned that reduced day services would have a “profound” impact on those who use them and their families.

There are 1,250 primary carers over the age of 70 who are caring at home for an adult relative with intellectual disability, and 400 of these carers are aged 80 or more.

“The €10m allocated allows us to provide only a small proportion of what is needed for these families,” he said.

“People with intellectual disabilities are one of the most vulnerable groups in society and, unfortunately, seem to have been largely forgotten in the government response to Covid-19.”

The National Federation is to engage with government and opposition TDs in the coming days over the funding issue.

It said the HSE had been provided with full costings in relation to the level of funding that was needed, but that the ultimate allocation was far short of what was needed.