Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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518. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the date on which the Disability Capacity Review Action Plan will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32624/23]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Health published the Disability Capacity Review in July 2021. This report set out the capacity requirements for health-funded disability services for the period up to 2032 and it is intended to address the capacity deficits in a phased approach over this period. This reflects the obligation under the UNCRPD for progressive implementation of social, cultural and economic rights.

Following the commitment in the 2020 Programme for Government to work towards implementing the findings, a Disability Action Plan Framework was published in July 2021 alongside the Terms of Reference for an interdepartmental Working Group to develop this Action Plan.

The Working Group has now completed its work and the draft Action Plan, which will be a vehicle for implementing the recommendations of the Disability Capacity Review and an implementation plan for the first phase, is currently being finalised for approval. As the plan is still being finalised, there is no date for publication at this time. This detailed Action Plan sets out the first phase of work to build the necessary capacity. This Action Plan aims to:

• build the capacity of disability support services to meet changing needs;
• improve timely access to services;
• do the groundwork to tackle constraints on the development of services;
• strengthen the focus on individualised services and supports to enable people with disabilities to live a life of their choosing in the community;
• begin the realignment of services to deliver better value with a particular focus on early intervention;

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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520. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the timeline he is working towards for publication of the Cost of Disability Action Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32627/23]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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The Cost of Disability in Ireland Report was commissioned by the Minister for Social Protection and was prepared by Indecon International Research Economists. It was published by the Department of Social Protection in December 2021. It provides important evidence of the additional costs that people with a disability face.

The Report has implications for many areas of public policy. As such, a whole-of-Government approach is required to develop appropriate responses and to ensure that everyday costs are reduced for people with disabilities and their families. This is in keeping with Ireland's long-standing mainstream-first approach to the development of disability policy. For that reason, the Cost of Disability report was referred to the Steering Group of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy (NDISSG) within 24 hours of publication, and the NDISSG agreed to consider the conclusions and recommendations of the report in the context of monitoring actions under the NDIS until the conclusion of that strategy in December 2022. During this time, departments and agencies across Government reported to the NDISSG on the various ways in which the Cost of Disability report was informing their approach to delivering actions under the NDIS. As the NDIS concluded in December 2022 the focus of my Department is on the development of an ambitious new successor strategy.

In that context there are no plans to develop a specific action plan to respond to the Cost of Disability report. Rather I intend to ensure that the Cost of Disability report informs actions within the context of the development of the new strategy and in respect of my own ministerial responsibilities, including specialist community-based disability services which transferred to me from the Minister of Health on 1 March 2023.

Work is ongoing across Government to coordinate the development of an ambitious successor strategy to the NDIS. It is important to me that this strategy includes meaningful action to reduce day to day costs for people with disabilities in Ireland. The Cost of Disability in Ireland report will be an important contribution to the evidence base from which actions and commitments in the new strategy are developed across Government throughout 2023.