Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 23 February 2022

Select Committee on Health

Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022: Committee Stage

Photo of Anne RabbitteAnne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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The disability capacity review involves a whole-of-government approach. The framework and action plan are being finalised with the support of funding because we know there is a lot of unmet need within that. It is not just unmet need within the health element but also with regard to recruitment, training, housing provision, access to employment and social protection. From a health perspective, it is a really welcome document. Eithne Fitzgerald is finalising the framework and the action plan with us to go to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to seek funding for it. I plan to divide it in three different phases in the first three years as opposed to doing it in a ten-year chunk and to front-load it to ensure we address that unmet need.

We know the expenditure of people who have children with challenging behaviours is no different from that of parents of children with multiple complex medical needs. The expense and the under-resourcing and underfunding for these parents need to be addressed and to be front and centre. At the same time, we need to address the rights of people. The right to housing and the right to access employment are very well addressed, which is why we have the housing strategy and the comprehensive employment strategy. I sit on both. I am confident about the disability capacity review. It has been a long time in the making and was eventually published. The framework and the meat that is being put on the bone are very substantial. It is not just sitting within one Department but must sit across all Departments. I have no doubt that all Deputies here will support the publication and the framework. Does that answer the Deputy's question?