Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The transformation of disability services in this country is exactly what the Deputy is talking about. The team involved with the value for money report, the policy review and the ongoing service reform are going into individual services to deal with issues such as those raised by the Deputy. We are talking about a service that is directed in many cases by people with disabilities themselves. I think the capacity legislation will have a great deal to do with that. It will ensure there is more consultation. We are going to change the service. The progressing disabilities programme, which relates to those aged 18 and under, will bring the services out of the institutions and settings in which they are normally found. Those services will be brought into the communities in order that everyone will have access to them. I keep saying that if we want to bring people with disabilities into mainstream services, we will have to ensure the service itself is mainstreamed. I do not think the Deputy and I are in disagreement on this issue. We are on the same page.

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