John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 66 together.

Recognising the cross-cutting nature of the national disability strategy, the Government established the Office for Disability and Mental Health in January 2008. This office helps me in exercising my functions as Minister of State with responsibility for disability and mental health across the Departments of Health and Children, Education and Science, Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The office brings together responsibility for a range of different policy areas and State services which directly impact on the lives of people with disabilities and mental health issues. The office will aim to bring about improvements in the manner by which services respond to the needs of people with disabilities and mental health issues by working to develop person centred services, focusing on the holistic needs of clients and service users and actively involving them in their own care.

A key priority for the office is to support the implementation of the health sectoral plan under the Disability Act 2005 and the planned implementation of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004. The office will focus in particular on facilitating the delivery of integrated health and education support services for children with special needs by further developing existing mechanisms for co-operation and co-ordination between the health and education sectors at national and local levels.

A cross-sectoral team consisting of senior officials from the Office for Disability and Mental Health, the Departments of Health and Children and Education and Science, the Health Service Executive and the National Council for Special Education meets on a regular basis to address issues arising in respect of the implementation of both Acts, as well as issues of cross-sectoral responsibility. The focus of the team is on the interaction required between the education and health sectors in order to advance and enhance services to people with disabilities. The matter raised by the Deputy regarding the provision of appropriate services to children with specific speech and language impairment must be considered within the overall context of preparations within the health and education sectors for the implementation of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act. I have asked the cross-sectoral team to consider the matter in this context and to report back to me in due course.

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