James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

I ask the Chair to indicate to me when I have a minute of my time remaining. I am very grateful for the opportunity to speak on this important issue. I understand the tremendous frustration and upset it has caused to many parents of children with disability. Many constituents who have been in touch with me and my office are experiencing great difficulty in regard to the domiciliary care allowance. Some of the core problems relate to the time since it transferred to the Department of Social Protection and also to the fact that reviews are being carried out more frequently. To my best knowledge, neither the Department of Health and Children nor the HSE used to carry out reviews once the allowance had been granted.

A situation, suggested by some, whereby there is a 52% success rate upon appeal would be a cause of great concern and, if it is the case, cannot be allowed to continue. It is a clear indication that the original decision-making process contains flaws and difficulties. I would also be very concerned about the expense families must occur in having to pay private facilities large sums of money to have assessments carried out in the timeline required by the Department, if these services are not available in the public system. Any review of the system must take cognisance of this.

An important point to be made in respect of disability is that it covers a wide range. Taking the autism spectrum disorder in particular, this is written into its definition. It is a spectrum, a range of disability, that goes from being so severe that, sadly, the only real option is institutional care, to being so mild that many children are in their 20s by the time they are diagnosed and the condition picked up. In a situation where we have limited budgets and an economic downturn we have to ensure the resources are focused on those who need them most. The point has been made that the total fund for the domiciliary care allowance has not only been maintained, but has increased.

There is also an issue around support for disability, in particular for children. I believe we have been looking at this in isolation. There is funding going through the Departments of Education and Skills, Health, Social Protection and Children and Youth Affairs. Perhaps we need more joined-up thinking in order to ensure the funding goes to those children who have the greatest need. On the side of the Department of Health, we have taken a number of initiatives. In regard to autism we have initiated a review of services so that the current scenario of very uneven delivery of service can be addressed from within our existing budget. We also seek to examine new ways of delivering the services in order that children's needs can be met in a more cost-effective fashion. Another initiative we have taken is that we now have a named person, at principal officer level, across the Departments of Education and Skills, Health and Children and Youth Affairs with the aim of ensuring proper cohesion between the services for children with autism and other communications disorders. Next year, Ireland will have the EU Presidency. My Department has made the issue of autism and children with communications difficulty a priority for our Presidency.

The great work parents do with children with disability is certainly recognised by me and the Government and we seek to support it. I have had meetings with the Minister for Social Protection on a number of occasions and am very pleased her Department is undertaking a policy review of the DCA in order to clarify whether legislative change is required and, in particular, to examine whether the current administrative process needs further refinement. Part of this review will also examine the regularity with which reviews are carried out, taking into account the impact on families in regard to the need for fresh reports, which are often made at great personal expense.

Two years ago, the Department of Social Protection took over the administration of the scheme - which I believe to be proper. It is consistent with Government policy on having a person-centred approach to the delivery of services income and other supports to people with a disability. The DCA scheme is now a statutory scheme with primary legislation provided for in the Social Welfare Act and the Pensions Act 2008.

I wish to place on the record of the House my acknowledgment of the extraordinary commitment of parents to their children, especially those with disability. All they seek is that their child is allowed to reach his or her full potential. I want to support them, as does this Government. I welcome the review by the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, of the domiciliary care allowance. I hope it will clarify the administrative process and address the difficulties being experienced by many parents who are struggling to provide for their children.

See this speech in context