Áine Brady (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)

I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, Deputy Mary Harney, the Minister for Health and Children. I am pleased to take this opportunity to address the issues raised by Deputy O'Donnell.

As Deputy O'Donnell is aware, a range of training, health and personal social day services are provided by several State agencies, including the HSE, non-statutory agencies funded by the HSE, and specialist training providers funded by and on behalf of FÁS, to young people with disabilities when they leave school. A national review of all health service-funded day services for people with disabilities is being completed. This review indicates that a total of 25,302 people with intellectual disabilities, physical and sensory disabilities, and-or long-term mental health difficulties attend day services, including training services, either provided by the HSE or provided by non-statutory agencies funded by the HSE.

It is important that training services are matched to the person's need. In meeting this need the HSE employs guidance officers at local level to assist in the profiling of young school leavers with disabilities to appropriate training and day services. The guidance officers work with the school leaver, their family, school authorities and service providers to ensure that school leavers with disabilities have access to appropriate services.

The coordination and planning of services to meet the needs of people with disabilities form a central tenet of the national disability strategy. A critical element of such coordination and planning is the requirement to provide financial support for the development and implementation of services. In recent years, the Government has provided significant additional resources for services and supports for effecting real change in the development of services for people with disabilities. The multi-annual investment programme, which was a key component of the Government's disability strategy, had by the end of the period 2005-08 provided the following places for people with intellectual disability: 804 new residential places, 307 new respite places, and 1,863 new day places, and for people with physical and sensory disabilities, 275 new residential places and 911,626 extra home care-personal assistance hours.

In addition, in the same period, the services in 195 day places have been enhanced by the provision of additional supports to deal with school leavers or other adults with significant disabilities; 406 places in the residential service for people with intellectual disability have been enhanced, 61 respite places have been enhanced while 43 residential places in the physical and sensory disability services have been enhanced.

Due to the current economic situation, it has not been possible to provide development funding for additional services in 2009. The HSE and voluntary disability service providers, however, are working together to ensure that of the existing resources available for specialist disability, services are used in the most effective manner possible. In the current challenging economic environment, there is a responsibility on all publicly-funded services to review the way in which services are delivered and ensure resources are used to maximum effect. This also applies to disability service providers in the non-statutory sector.

The aim should be to ensure that the needs of as many individuals as possible are catered for within the resources available. Voluntary agencies within the disability sector are working with the HSE to ensure plans are in place in each area to respond to the needs of individuals with disabilities in 2009. While this will be challenging in the absence of significant funding for new developments, the voluntary sector and HSE are committed to the best use of available resources in a creative and flexible manner to be as responsive as possible to the needs that present.

On the specific issue of availability of day places, the Department of Health and Children and the HSE are aware of the particular needs of school leavers in September 2009. The HSE is reviewing, with service providers, whether capacity exists within current day services to accommodate the needs of some of the individuals in question. Some funding may be available in the HSE's service plan to provide additional capacity in the event that existing services are not in a position to accommodate an individual's service requirements. This will be examined on a local and regional level.

I understand from the HSE that in the specific cases of the six young adults raised by Deputy O'Donnell, this need has been identified, assessments have been completed and that the HSE will shortly commence the process of engaging with the families with a view to providing this service.

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