Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)

I will skip much of the reply provided as it deals primarily with disability issues at national level.

I thank Deputy Jack Wall for raising this matter. As he will know, the disability budget nationally was cut by 3.7% in 2012. The Health Service Executive's national service plan states that at least 2% of this reduction should not impact on services and needs to be generated from other savings and increased efficiencies. The HSE, through its national consultative forum on disability, which includes representative organisations and agencies from the disability sector, is seeking to identify and agree a framework to address the savings required, with minimal impact on front line services. The executive has assured me it is endeavouring to ensure services are protected, where possible, from reductions in front line services. Some reductions in services will be unavoidable, even with such efficiencies, but this will be done to minimise the impact on service users and their families as much as possible.

Disability services for children have a long history in Ireland and many organisations provide excellent support and interventions for children and their families. However, as they have developed independently, they were often established to serve one specific group of children only. The result has been a wide variation in the services available in different parts of the country and for different categories of disability. We need to find a better way to provide services for all children with disabilities.

The Health Service Executive, working with the non-statutory and voluntary organisations they fund and others in the health, education and disability sectors, has established a national project - Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People - which will change the way services are provided. The project is based on the recommendations of the report of the national reference group on multidisciplinary services for children aged between five and 18 years, which was produced by representatives of the professions and management involved in delivering multidisciplinary services to children.

As I noted, the written reply outlines the global position on disability services in some detail. On the young child with special needs whose case Deputy Wall raises, I understand the circumstances of the case are known to the Health Service Executive. The HSE is considering, as sympathetically as possible and having regard to the financial and other resource constraints applying, how the health service supports required by the child to allow the move from the special school in County Kildare to the special school in County Carlow from September this year could be met. It has indicated, following a request from me, that it will keep me informed regularly of developments in the case.

I fully accept the case Deputy Wall has made. It appears logical that the child in question be allowed to move schools. Few people with multiple disabilities and a high level of need are being placed in residential care, which is as matters should be. Most of those in such circumstances live in the community with their families and receive supports, as occurs in the case of the boy in question. The Deputy stated he hopes common sense will prevail. I hope sense is as common as he believes it to be because sometimes it is not shown. We are working on this issue and I hope a solution will be found. As Deputy Wall noted, it does not make sense to leave matters as they stand.

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