Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will take up with the HSE again directly the issues the Deputy raised. They are very important. I will ensure the Carlow-Kilkenny disability services will continue to engage with the family on an ongoing basis regarding their son. An inter-agency and interdisciplinary case review was held on 25 January when health professionals recommended that, given the person's situation, it would be appropriate to introduce home community support for him on a phased basis. The home support services started on 30 January, one week ago. Further meetings will take place as determined by the individual's needs and will involve relevant inter-agency and professionals, the family and their advocate. The HSE has also advised the family that it is available to collaborate with the relevant professionals in the Department of Education and Skills. This is important.

I was directly involved in the negotiations regarding the HSE social care plan and I saw the gap there. The Deputy probably noticed that in the plan, funding for personal assistant, PA, hours has increased for 2017. In 2017, we expect to deliver 1.4 million PA hours to 2,357 adults with physical or sensory disabilities. This is an increase of 100,000 hours compared with 2016. When dealing with individuals and huge sums of money, we must ensure the service is delivered, in this case, to the particular young person with the intellectual disability. These are issues I want to hear about from the Deputy and the family at our meeting in the coming weeks.

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