Funding of £2.475 million for the provision of 55 extra residential places and 110 day care places for mentally handicapped people will be allocated to the Eastern Health Board by the Department of Health.
According to the health board, the residential places will be used mainly for respite care, while the day places will be filed on a shared basis "to maximise the number of people who can avail of these places".
There are currently 2,592 people with a mental handicap in residential care and 7,040 people availing of day programmes.