Carers face loss of respite due to insufficient Covid-19 support from the State

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. Picture: Pexels

Carers face losing out on respite because of insufficient government funding to them to cover the additional costs due to Covid-19, according to the National Federation of Voluntary Service Providers.

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.