Press release
Ministers Donnelly and Rabbitte announce €10m funding to support people with disabilities during COVID-19
From Department of Health
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Health
Published on
Last updated on
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly TD and Minister of State for Disability Anne Rabbitte TD today announced that €10 million is being made available to support the resumption of day services and enhanced home support services for disability service users.
The €10 million funding is being drawn down from the National Action Plan on COVID-19 - €7.5 million will increase the level of day service provision and €2.5 million will provide intensive support packages for children and young people with complex/high support needs.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly TD said:
"The funding announced today will be crucially important in supporting people with disabilities in the coming months. This investment will go some way to alleviate some of the pressures and stress on people with disabilities and their families.
"I would like to pay tribute to the dedicated and hard-working staff in our disability services. Through their innovation and flexibility, many of the much-needed services have resumed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic."
Minister for Disabilities Anne Rabbitte TD added:
"I’ve spent the last few months hearing from people with disabilities and their families across the country. The main question put to me by people was when there would be an increase to the number of days people could attend their service, so this has been a focus for me in securing this funding.
"We all must continue to operate under public health guidance, and we have some way to go before disability services can be fully restored. This will, however, increase day services by one day a week for over 14,000 adults. In addition, this package of funding will also provide an additional 210 intensive support packages to help children and young people with complex/high support needs remain living with their families, which will hopefully ease the pressure some families are under.
"This package of €10 million is a step in the right direction towards full restoration of services and will have a positive impact on the lives of people with disabilities as we face into the tougher winter months."
ENDS