Mr. Bernard O'Regan:

Regarding the Deputy's questions about home support, PA services and where the priority rests, in terms of alignment with the UNCRPD, there are a few different things that are not indistinct from each other and need to overlap. The increase in PA hours over the past two years, which will be increased again significantly in 2022, is the direction we are looking to go with the support of the Minister of State, the Department and the Government in terms of increasing the range and amount of PA hours that are available. This is in recognition of the importance of this service to people. It does need to be aligned with other pieces of work such as agreeing exactly what the definition of that service is. The way the Deputy articulated it and the way I understand it would be in common but there is no clear policy. It is something we have agreed to progress over the next year. We are also developing some mechanisms so that there is a common way of assessing and determining how the use of those hours is done on an equitable basis across the CHOs and we have good mechanisms for governance and administration of it.

Regarding home support hours, I understand the Deputy's point about the limitations it can place on people. The challenge for us is to recognise that those home support hours are very important for people. We must work with the providers to make sure they are provided in a way that is in line with the UNCRPD so that they are not limiting services to people but instead are enabling services to people. We need to work towards that. This is something we have been discussing as part of the work we are doing on the disability action plan referred to by the Minister of State. We have been discussing what needs to happen to make sure all of the services are aligned with the UNCRPD. That is not just about the new services we have put in place; it is also about existing services where culture, practice or delivery might need to change so that they are aligned with the UNCRPD.

The Deputy asked some questions about decongregation. Does the Minister of State wish me to deal with some of them? Does she want to go first and I can come in after her?