Mr. Joe Meany:

On the personalised budgets, the task force reported back in 2018. Covid happened after that but the sooner it reports the better. I believe that 291 people were involved in the personalised budget process. Of the 291 people 70 are at different stages of the model, only 50 people are actually availing of a personalised budget that I am I aware of, and 170 people withdrew from the model. One needs to ask why they withdrew. The personalised budget process at the moment is only allowed for people who have existing allocations. The person has to go in and give up his or her existing placement, which is not straightforward. Then the person has to start a whole process so it is not easy for a family or an individual to do that. It is a big process there. I am not sure if I am alone in this but I believe it would make sense if the personalised budget was brought under the banner of day services. There is a structure within days services across the country: there is a day opportunities manager, day opportunities officers in each CHO area, and there will be in each health region area as well. They also have a standards officer and a finance officer so why not bring the personalised budgets into that as well? At the moment I believe it is two staff across the country managing the whole personalised budget. That is never going to grow unless more resources are given to it. If more resources are not given to it, then let it fit into or dovetail with an existing structure already there and let it run that way. At the moment it is not going to grow.

I agree mostly with Dr. Harnett and Ms Mallon with regard to the new directions policy. I would not call new directions a failure. I am around long enough to know there has been huge progress in day services over the years. The processes that have been brought in have really moved day services on in a very in a very good way. I would agree to a certain that there is more to be done. More resources are needed. As we pointed out earlier, there is infrastructure that needs to be worked on. I keep going back to the resource allocation model. This needs to be put in place. In 2015 the National Disability Authority made a recommendation on that and we have not had a decision yet. We need that. There is no doubt that better resourcing needs to happen, along with the enhanced needs piece, and we need to look also at the people who are choosing not to avail of the service.

It is not just the older person either. It is also the person with autism and the young person who decides they do not want to be in that space anymore. Services have to deliver a rights-based service to support them in that home situation. At the moment, the infrastructure does not allow for that, nor does the funding allow for it.