Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)

Having spent four years as a member of the Committee on Disability Matters, I am delighted to have the opportunity to attend today in my new role as Minister of State with responsibility for disability. I look forward to working with the committee, alongside the Minister, Deputy Foley, to ensure that the important policy and budgetary considerations that impact people with disabilities are thoroughly discussed and appropriately scrutinised.

As the Minister set out in her statement, €267 million in supplementary funding is under consideration by the committee today. This will support a range of specialist disability services where activity has exceeded funding targets, as set out in the HSE’s national service plan, or where the cost of delivering services has increased. The Minister has set out some of the key areas that will be supported through this additional funding.

To expand on that, specific examples can be seen in the areas of personal assistance and home support, where €11 million is needed to meet the cost of hours provided in the current and previous years that exceeded the national service plan targets, with home support packages being a key driver of this increased activity. In the area of day services, an additional €11 million will be allocated to address additional costs arising through those services. This includes costs associated with providing transport for people with disabilities to and from day services.

While the provision of transport services is not part of the core service within the HSE specialist disability service, we recognise that viable public transport options were not always possible or available throughout the country and that transport support needs vary between individuals. In some instances, transport supports were provided by the HSE or funded through agencies on a discretionary basis, and a variety of transport solutions were pursued in different health regions. These include travel training to enable public transport to be used, where appropriate, local transport such as Local Link, private transport and some service providers provide transport where capacity exists.

It is important to note that this supplementary funding will also help to address the financial challenges being experienced by many of the section 38 and 39 organisations that provide specialist services on behalf of the State. It is vital that we support these organisations, which are reporting significant financial challenges. The financial challenges facing the voluntary sector are highly complex, arising from both historical issues around funding arrangements as well as emerging challenges due to the changing profile of user needs, higher safety and quality standards and general demographic pressures. We are committed to working with the HSE and the broader disability sector to better understand costs and the drivers of those costs to ensure we can maximise the impact for the service user from the significant level of funding being invested in the sector.

The Minister referenced the significant investment in disability services committed through budget 2026, with an additional €618 million being invested. That represents a 20% increase on 2025. A key focus next year will be on ensuring the budget meets the real cost of service, ensuring a stable base upon which to plan and expand services both now and into the future. The aim is to provide stability for a sector which has seen significant cost increases in recent years on top of a rising demand for services.

In addition to the areas outlined by the Minister, the additional funding in 2026 will provide for an extra 1,400 day service places for school leavers. Budget 2026 will, for the first time ever, enable a cohort of in the region of 50 older adults to avail of day services. Day services are ordinarily offered to school leavers or those leaving rehabilitation training, so this is a new departure. It is important as it gives people options later in life and as their circumstances and wishes may change. This includes people who may acquire a disability.

There will also be a significant expansion of both home support and personal assistance service hours. Precise numbers will be set out in the HSE’s national service plan. As well as expanding services, we will also look at a new vision and strategy for disability services, in line with commitments under the national human rights strategy for disabled people. This will allow us to take a deeper look at the service model and work to make services more person-centred.

I echo the Minister's recommendation of the Supplementary Estimate for Children, Disability and Equality - Vote 40. I am very happy to address any questions members may have.