Minister of State for Disabilities, Anne Rabbitte, announces €23m funding for disability capital projects in 2024

• Children’s services, Day services and Respite facilities to receive investment
• First ever Disability Strategic Capital Plan to be developed

Minister of State for Disabilities, Anne Rabbitte, has announced €23m in capital funding has been allocated for disability capital projects in 2024. Minister Rabbitte has also asked the HSE to develop the first ever disability specific multi-annual Capital Strategy.

The allocation follows the development of the Action Plan for Disability Services 2024-2026, which was launched in December 2023. The Action Plan represents the first phase of implementation of the recommendations of the Disability Capacity Review and contains ambitious targets for service expansion, as well as a route for making services more person-centred, in the spirit of the UNCRPD.

In support of the Action Plan’s aims, the Minister has also asked the HSE to develop a disability specific multi-annual Capital Strategy this year. The Strategy will be informed by sectoral consultation and will identify the short and medium term infrastructure needs for disability services. Dedicated resources, including a new Assistant National Director for Disability Capital in the HSE, are being put in place and will drive the development of this Strategy and will co-ordinate and deliver on this expanded programme of works.

Minister Rabbitte said:

The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has set ambitious targets for the expansion of residential services, day services, children’s services and respite facilities under the Action Plan, which require appropriate strategic capital investment to provide the necessary infrastructure.

Some of the projects being supported to progress in 2024 include:

The De-congregation Programme is also set to progress; the movement of people from congregated settings to smaller (1-4 person) residential homes in the community.

To date, 130 properties have been provided to this end, with a further 29 in the pipeline to further extend community-based living arrangements to disabled people and help Ireland achieve its obligations under the UNCRPD. This is in addition to a mainstream first approach with HSE and Disability Specialist Voluntary Agencies engaging with Local Authorities to access housing across communities where possible. That is in line with the Housing Strategy for Disabled Persons, and in addition to the use of the Capital Assistance Scheme and the Capital Advance Leasing Facility.

ENDS

In 2023, €15.6m was spent on disability capital. The largest element of this spend was on the de-congregation programme where almost €6m was spent to bring forward housing within the community for people moving on from congregated settings. A further €5.2m was spent on the purchase, build and refurbishment of facilities for Children’s Services, Day Services and Respite facilities. €4m was spent on fire safety, minor capital and infrastructural upgrade to ensure services can operate safely and comply with regulations.

Following the March 2023 transfer of disability services from DoH to DECIDY, all capital funding provided by DCEDIY is ring-fenced for disability projects only, with the goal of expanding and transforming disability services to meet current and future need.

The HSE Capital Plan 2024 reflects the priorities outlined in the National Development Plan and those set out in the Action Plan for Disability Services, 2024-2026 (detailed below). DCEDIY is currently engaging with the HSE to progress the development of a disability specific, multi-annual Capital Strategy during 2024, which will identify the medium term infrastructure needs for disability services.

The aims of the current HSE Capital Plan with respect to disability services include;

• Provide €23m to support specialist community based disability services
• Increase disability capital project pipeline
• Continue the transition of people from institutional settings to community-based services in line with the Time to Move on from Congregated Settings Policy
• Continue engagement with local authorities and approved housing bodies to avail of additional Government funding through the Capital Assistance Scheme
• Enable disability service delivery by providing accommodation for disability network teams, therapy and day services

Capital developments planned by the HSE for 2024 include projects that provide accommodation for disability network teams, development of Day Services facilities across the country, fitting out adult and children’s residential and respite houses and other residential projects.

The following is of list disabilities projects currently included with the Capital Plan. This will expand as the year continues.

Additionally, the plan includes seven Disability related Community Care projects.

Developed by an interdepartmental Working Group, the Action Plan for Disability Services 2024 – 2026 was launched in December 2023 and represents the first phase of implementation of the Disability Capacity Review to 2032.

The headline service improvements planned for 2024-26 which the announced expenditure addresses are as follows:

Adult Day Services

• on average around 1,200 additional day service places each year to ensure places for school leavers who require them

Respite Services

• continued expansion of respite services, including alternative residential options

Residential Services

• 500 new community-based residential care places to replace disability care in large institutional and campus-based settings, with a view to ending that form of provision by 2030
• around 900 additional residential care places to tackle unmet needs and ensure supply keeps pace with demographic change
• increase support for people with disabilities to access supported independent living
• provision of supports to live at home, in order to phase out long-term care in a nursing home for younger people with disabilities