Respite Care

At Comfort Keepers, we provide a range of respite care options including;

·         Disability respite care for adults

·         Adult respite care

·         Dementia respite care

What is respite care?

Respite care is short-term care that provides a planned programme of care visits, from a few hours in the day to a few weeks. Our respite care programmes are designed to provide unpaid carers with a valuable, time-limited break while minimising any upheaval and stress to the client.

These programmes can be provided in the client’s home or in a variety of out of home settings.  Respite care is an essential part of the overall support that families may need to keep their loved ones at home.

Supporting Ireland’s carers

There are 161,000 family carers in Ireland, providing 3.7 million hours of care each week (Care Alliance, 2015).

A carer is defined as someone who provides regular, unpaid personal help for a friend or family member with a long-term illness, health problem or disability (including problems which are due to old age, by the 2006 Census.

An Irish study of family carers by the College of Psychiatry of Ireland and the Carers Association found that over half of carers were mentally and physically “drained” by their role and over half reported suffering a medical problem, most frequently a back injury. In Australia, a study found that carers struggled to participate in social activities due to their caring duties.

It is these physical, emotional and social strains that respite care is designed to help relieve. Supporting carers ultimately means enabling patients to remain in their homes.

The Respite Care Grant

The Respite Care Grant is an annual payment made to carers by the Department of Social Protection in June of each year.

It is automatically paid to carers receiving Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance or Prescribed Relative’s Allowance.

In 2015, the Respite Care Grant was €1,375 and it is not taxable. One Respite Care Grant is paid for each person getting care.

There are certain rules attached to the grant. You can find out more about the Respite Care Grant Rules on Citizens Information site.

Contact Comfort Keepers for Respite Care

Respite care is most effective when it is tailored to each individual client’s needs. To discuss your own care needs, please call us on 1850 818 100 or email us via the contact form on this page.