Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Gloster and his colleagues. I thank them for all the work they are doing. They have a difficult job ahead of them so I just want to acknowledge the work they are doing.

Mr Gloster referred briefly in his opening statement to the transfer of functions in respect of disability services to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, which took place in March 2023. In September, the Ombudsman for Children published the report, Nowhere to Turn, which detailed the harrowing realities faced by children with disabilities and their families. It referred to the reality of being without services and support. The report found that local disability managers believe it is not the role of the HSE to provide residential care to such children and that there is conflict with Tusla in regard to where this responsibility should lie. In the year since the transfer of functions, have we reached a point of clarity on this issue? Has a strategy been formalised in order to meet this need and to plan accordingly?