Restored respite house in doubt over funding row

A RESTORED respite service for relatives of people with intellectual disabilities in Limerick is in doubt after families rejected a proposal that they raise funds to pay for a replacement service.

A house used for respite care was closed on June 14, due to government cutbacks.

Managed by the Brothers of Charity in Bawnmore, it accommodated people with disabilities while their family members needed some time off from caring duties.

The reported cost of running the service was €150,000 a year.

Meanwhile, a temporary respite house was opened last week by the Brothers of Charity.

At a meeting earlier this week, families rejected a proposal they should fund-raise to finance a replacement respite home.

Widow Sarah Hurley from Roxboro Road, who care for her 37-year-old son John, who has Down Syndrome, said they were entitled to respite care and should not have to go out to the public, cap-in-hand.

“I used the respite house a few days a months. When it closed, I had to take John along with me to a nurses’ reunion in Galway as there was no place I could leave him.

“He loved going to the respite house… He knew all the carers there and I knew he was being well cared for and it game me a little break. I have cared for John all his life and I do not ask for much from the state.”

Ms Hurley said if they embarked on fundraising, they would be faced with raising funds every year.

“We have saved the state millions by not putting our children into care and now we are expected to fund-raise for a respite service. We don’t ask for much – a few nights a month. I take John to Bawnmore (daycare) every morning and collect him every evening.”

Norma Bagge, acting chief executive of the Limerick Brothers of Charity, said she could not comment on the situation as she had not officially been told of the families’ position.

Ms Bagge said the opening of the new respite service had occurred as a result of a decision taken by the board of directors of the Brothers of Charity Services Limerick to contribute €50,000 from its current fund-raising resources to a dedicated fund for respite services. It was expected the fund would be increased by monies raised through fund-raising initiatives organised by families associated with the Brothers of Charity Services Limerick, she added.

She said the HSE had told her in recent weeks there was no additional money available for respite services and that the Brothers of Charity had cut back in all areas as much as they could.