Message from Elaine Teague, CEO, Disability Federation of Ireland

Dear Members,

Following the Department of Children, Disability and Equality’s briefing on Budget 2027, I am sharing a summary of the key announcements, issues discussed and outstanding questions relating to disability specialist services.

The briefing provided further detail on the €269 million in additional funding announced for disability specialist services, covering residential and day services, respite, personal assistance and home support, staffing, reform and capital investment.

While the overall investment has been confirmed, the detailed allocation of funding across individual service areas is still being finalised. The Department advised that the allocation was only confirmed on Monday night and that further work is required to determine the specific outputs and delivery arrangements. Detailed information is expected through the letter of determination process over the coming weeks.

The summary below distinguishes between the commitments outlined at the briefing and areas where further clarification is required. It also highlights the issues DFI will continue to pursue on behalf of our members and the wider disability sector.

Budget 2027: Overview of key announcements

• Overall reach: Disability specialist services support more than 90,000 people.

• Total budget: The disability specialist services budget will exceed €4 billion in 2027.

• Additional funding: €269 million in additional funding for the year.

• Maintaining existing services: €251 million to respond to demand and demographic growth and maintain existing service levels.

• Residential supports: Funding includes 100 planned residential places and 112 emergency places, alongside support packages for people under 65 in nursing homes and congregated settings, and children in State care with Tusla. More than 400 residential places were referenced overall, with further detail required on the breakdown.

• Staffing: 930 additional posts, including 150 staff for Children’s Disability Network Teams. The total workforce is expected to reach 24,500 by the end of 2027.

• Neurorehabilitation: Two new NeuroRehabilitation Teams are planned: one covering Dublin North-East, including North Dublin, Louth, Meath, Monaghan and most areas of Cavan; and another covering the South-East, including Waterford, Wexford, Carlow, Kilkenny and South Tipperary.

• Capital investment: €48 million in capital funding.

• Personal assistance and home support: 191,000 additional hours across personal assistance and home support. A breakdown between the two categories has not yet been provided.

• Day services: Funding for 1,500 new day-service places.

• Respite: An additional 14,700 respite sessions over a full year. It has not yet been confirmed how these will be divided between day and overnight respite.

• Wider budget measures: Other relevant provisions include the Driver Licence Adaptation Scheme, the Cost of Disability payment and social welfare increases. These should also be considered when assessing the wider impact of Budget 2027 on disabled people and their families.

Residential supports, housing and respite

The briefing highlighted the importance of improved planning and cross-departmental coordination to address the ongoing challenges facing disabled people and families.

Key points included:

• The HSE is recruiting for planning and residential teams in each region to strengthen planning and delivery.

• Local authorities are being assigned disability housing targets, covering specialist disability housing and housing for people with less complex support needs. Local authorities are expected to report through local steering committees.

• Residential plans for 2027 include 22 people moving to enhanced existing places, 32 people transitioning from nursing homes, 292 people receiving a community residential place and 157 people receiving enhanced supports in their current setting, including quality-of-life supports in nursing homes.

• The additional 14,700 respite sessions will be delivered on top of the current HSE National Service Plan targets for 2026 of 175,000 overnight respite sessions and 91,000 day-only sessions. The precise breakdown of the additional sessions remains to be confirmed.

• Minister Foley acknowledged that planning has been a significant issue for families. DFI welcomed the focus on planning and the need for stronger coordination across Government departments.

Reform, innovation and personalised supports

The discussion also addressed the longer-term direction of disability services, including Equal Lives, personalised budgets and the development of more individualised, community-based supports.

Key points included:

• Seed funding is available for Equal Lives, with reform and innovation expected to feature alongside service expansion.

• Equal Lives is not yet settled policy. Further engagement will be required to establish how the reform agenda will develop and how changes will be implemented.

• The Department intends to emphasise reform, innovation and service improvement through the letter of determination process.

• Work on personalised budgets is continuing within the Department, alongside the HSE and other stakeholders, with a focus on supporting independent living in the community.

• Further work is required to establish a coherent framework connecting personal assistance, personalised budgets and home support. Ireland is not yet in a position to scale personalised budgets, and publication of the relevant evaluation remains awaited.

During the discussion, sector representatives emphasised the importance of involving disabled people and families in the development of new approaches. A clear explanation of proposed changes and meaningful engagement will be essential to building confidence in reforms and supporting a shift towards rights-based, personalised and community-based services.

Funding detail, communication and implementation

A key issue raised by sector representatives was the need for clearer information on the funding announced and what it will deliver in practice.

• The Department advised that detailed allocations would be worked through over approximately three weeks as part of the letter of determination process. While some areas have specific figures attached, further work is required to establish the detail for others.

• Minister Foley acknowledged that some of the budget terminology is difficult to interpret and that a plain-English explanation would be helpful.

• The Department also noted that feedback from the pre-budget stakeholder forum in May had informed the final settlement. Further engagement on the detail of reforms is expected over the next one to two months.

For DFI members, the key outstanding questions concern the number of additional places and hours that will be delivered, how funding will be allocated across service areas, and how the commitments will translate into practical improvements for disabled people and their families.

Sustainability and cost pressures facing providers

The briefing also addressed the ongoing financial pressures facing voluntary disability organisations.

No separate sustainability funding line was included in the Budget 2027 disability specialist services allocation. The Department indicated that sustainability had been addressed in the previous year, while acknowledging that significant challenges remain for some voluntary providers.

• Cost pressures, particularly for Section 39 organisations, will need to be considered through the allocation process and local service arrangements.

• Auto-enrolment costs were identified as an issue requiring further examination. These costs were not included as a separate budget line and will need to be addressed through service arrangement discussions.

• The Department highlighted the need for a detailed evidence base to demonstrate the impact of auto-enrolment and inflation on providers.

DFI will continue to highlight the financial pressures facing member organisations and the importance of ensuring that funding arrangements reflect the actual costs of delivering services.

DFI’s priorities and next steps

Following the briefing, DFI will continue to engage with the Department and HSE to seek clarity on the outstanding details and monitor how the announced investment is implemented.

Our immediate priorities are to:

• Obtain and review the letter of determination and detailed funding allocations.

• Seek clarity on the outputs for residential places, respite, personal assistance and home-support hours, day services and other service developments.

• Seek a plain-English explanation of the main budget terms and funding categories.

• Monitor how commitments on reform and innovation are reflected in service expansion and the development of community-based supports.

• Continue engagement on personalised budgets, personal assistance and more individualised supports.

• Build the evidence base on inflation, auto-enrolment and sustainability pressures affecting voluntary disability organisations.

• Monitor progress on disability housing targets and reporting through local steering committees.

While the additional investment is significant, the detail of its allocation and implementation will be critical in determining its impact. DFI will continue to engage constructively with the Department and HSE to ensure that the needs of disabled people, families and the organisations providing essential supports remain central to the implementation process.

We will keep members informed as further information becomes available. In the meantime, if your organisation has specific questions or evidence relating to funding pressures or service delivery, please share these with us, as they will help inform our ongoing engagement.

Kind regards,

Elaine Teague
Chief Executive Officer
Disability Federation of Ireland