The Department of Health has been accused of a diabolical refusal to provide respite funding directly to the NI Children’s Hospice, despite leaving over a quarter of its children’s respite budget unspent in the last financial year.

Alliance Party health spokesperson Nuala McAllister MLA expressed frustration at the decision, noting that the underspend made the refusal particularly difficult to understand.

The NI Children’s Hospice provides specialist palliative and respite care for children with life-limiting conditions and their families. Respite funding allows the hospice to offer short breaks that relieve families and give children access to expert care.

Publicly available Department of Health figures show that children’s respite funding was underspent by more than 25% in 2023-24. Despite this, the Department has declined the charity’s request for direct financial support.

McAllister has called on the Department to explain how it intends to use the leftover funds and to reconsider its stance on hospice funding.