Alan Farrell (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Minister of State on her enlarged portfolio and I hope her cold gets better very soon. She sounds like she is suffering at the moment.

I acknowledge the motion and the amendment, and I welcome the opportunity to speak on it. It is very clear that we must provide people with disabilities and their families with every support possible to ensure we foster a society which is inclusive of them in all aspects.

The Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, through her work as Minister of State with responsibility for disability, equality, mental health and older people, has consistently worked for the benefit of people with disabilities and the Government is committed to providing them with the best possible support. The Minister of State established the national disability strategy implementation group which developed a plan for the progression of the national disability strategy following a commitment in the programme for Government. The aim of this plan is to increase engagement with the disability sector and lead to the development of more effective and innovative services which will address the issues currently being faced by this sector. During recent tough economic times, all sectors of society have had to deal with reduced levels of resources. However, what is important is that diminished resources are used in the best possible manner to provide maximum support to those with a disability.

Furthermore, included within that strategy plan is a comprehensive employment strategy for people who have disabilities. The aim of this is to provide affected persons with access to employment and to ensure that the services available to them at local level are co-ordinated. In addition, it aims to ensure that agency boundaries do not hinder the provision of joined-up access to what should be seamless support. This is of fundamental importance and I commend the Minister of State on her work in this area, specifically for requesting the drafting of the comprehensive employment strategy. We must ensure that people with disabilities are provided with the support necessary to put them in a position where their access to employment is at an equal level to that of everybody else in society.

The Government currently provides approximately €5 billion to disability services across all Departments. It is regrettable that some organisations which work with, and on behalf of, disabled people lost funding under the scheme to support national organisations. Applications for funding under this scheme were examined based upon the consideration of their social and economic benefits in addition to their consistency with the main priorities, policies, role and remit of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government.

These applications were assessed primarily by Pobal, not by the Department itself. Therefore, a decision not to fund any organisation is not a reflection on the work carried out, but rather that it did not score sufficiently on the assessment criteria. Perhaps such criteria need to be changed. The sad fact is that many valuable and worthwhile organisations lost out on funding as a result of this and I urge them to look to the appeals process being run by Pobal, the timeframe for which, I understand, is very tight.

Examining the support provided to disabled people by the Government, from a health perspective, shows that the Government is committed to providing them with a means to fulfil their full potential both socially and economically. The commitment in the Statement of Government Priorities 2014-2016 published on Friday that the Government will implement the report of the value and policy review of the disability services programme is welcome. I welcome the refocusing of the programme for Government on that measure.

Regarding the funding of services on an individualised basis the focus should be placed upon the individual as opposed to groups, as Deputy Dowds and the Minister of State have mentioned. The implementation of the value-for-money review will place an emphasis on providing choice for such individuals rather than by a professional or administrator. This marks a significant shift in policy, ensuring that the individual is at the core of the process.

I remind Members that the Government, unlike previous governments, has done its utmost to provide for vulnerable groups in society under very harsh economic circumstances. No such support was shown by the previous Administration, given it cut payments, such as the widow's pension, the carer's allowance, the blind pension, the invalidity pension and the disability allowance, not once, but twice.

Education is a key issue for those with disabilities and ensuring they have the highest level of educational support is paramount in providing them with the best opportunities in life. The 2014 budget in the Department of Education and Skills allocated €1.3 billion to supporting children with special needs. We have increased the number of SNAs each year, including an additional 390 in the most recent budget. Following on from this, the allocation of additional funding in excess of €7 million to the HSE social care operational plan is a very positive step that will assist more than 1,400 school-leavers and rehabilitation training graduates.

I am certain that the Minister of State would spend twice her budget for such services if she had it, but clearly our present economic circumstances demand that we achieve the best value for money. I commend the Minister of State on her work in this area. I am certain it will have a long-lasting effect on disability sector.

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