Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I assure Senator Dolan that there is a plan and strategy to develop and progress services for people with disabilities. We have to accept that in the HSE service plan for 2019, €1.904 billion is being invested in social services for people with disabilities. This is a significant investment in our disability services, the highest amount in the history of the State. This means that, as I speak, 8,600 people are in residential places, 27,000 people are in day services, there are 182,500 residential respite support overnights, 1.63 million hours for personal assistant services, 3.08 million hours for home support services and approximately 160 people who are now in institutions will be moving out of them. While I acknowledge there are problems in disability services which we are trying to fix , it is also proper to acknowledge the tremendous work being done by the HSE on this.

Senator Dolan's earlier point on disability was correct. I am smiling privately because we are discussing disability at 11 a.m. I have been at many committee meetings where we did not get to discuss disability until 12.30 p.m. or 1 p.m., three or four hours after the meeting had started. This is a reflection, and I have seen this in research from the National Disability Authority, of the need to make disability more mainstream in society. There is a lot of talk about disability but in broader society and the political system disability needs to be brought further into the centre. This is my job as the Minister of State and I try to do it every Tuesday at the Cabinet table. Every Minister has a role to play in this regard.

With regard to Senator Dolan's questions on unmet needs in disability services, we are updating the data as part of Transforming Lives. We all accept we need to plan the services and they need to be provided in a structured way. A total of 13.5% of our population, which is 643,000 people, have some form of disability. This is the reality. Most do not require disability services because their needs can be met in the primary care services, which is good. The figures Senator Dolan spoke about include the 60,000 people who have their needs recorded for the next five years. A total of 1.6% of these are aged under 65. We need to plan for these services. What amount of money are we speaking about? A residential place costs in the region of between €100,000 and €500,000 per annum. The figure of €500,000 is for high dependency adults with disabilities. A day place can cost as low as €5,000 per annum per year and up to €50,000. I make this point with regard to the funding.

What I believe is required over the next five years to meet unmet needs is additional funding of €10 million for respite services. We have done a fantastic job this year with the opening of 12 new respite houses but over the next five years we will need another €10 million for respite services. We also need €90 million to develop support needs for people with disabilities in day places and other places. We also need another €6 million for therapy posts. We have 100 therapy posts this year but I know from speaking to people what we need. Personal assistant services and home support hours need an additional €30 million. They are part of the plan over the next couple of years. To be upfront about it, the figure we are looking at is in the region of €286 million in additional money over the next five years.

To answer the points on Rehab, the organisation provides a very important service. I thank the Minister and the HSE for the tremendous support they have given me on the resolution of the issue with Rehab. They have been very supportive of the 3,000 people with disabilities involved and their families. The Minister makes the point that the work goes on. We are looking at the report from Dr. Catherine Day. We have a deficit issue, about which I speak to Senator Dolan regularly. We will come back with a plan on this. We have to deal with these issues. We will work constructively with all of the service providers because we need proper plans and proper budgets. As the Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities, I will always be looking for extra money. Sometimes I do well and sometimes I do not but the bottom line is we have to make the overall view. When we ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities last year it helped to change the mindset. We still have a long journey to go to bring this human rights approach to our disability services. These are citizens, many of whom now work, which is a good thing, and more have the ability to work. They pay tax and make a contribution to society. They should not be left behind in any way. From this point of view, much work has been done but, of course, we need to do more.