Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Joan Collins for raising this issue. Unfortunately, the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, cannot attend.

St. John of God community services provides for a range of HSE-funded supports in the area of disability and mental health. It is committed to the provision and development of services and supports of the highest standards to children and adults with intellectual disability. There are two whole-time equivalent speech and language therapy posts currently funded by the HSE in St. John of God, Islandbridge. At present, one of these posts is vacant due to sick leave. However, I understand St. John of God community services has commenced a recruitment process to fill this vacant post.

As part of the wider St. John of God community Menni services, some occupational therapy services are also provided to the users of Islandbridge. The Department of Education and Skills also provides significant levels of educational staffing to the school to support the educational needs of the pupils attending the school. This includes provision for a school principal, 16 teachers and 30 special needs assistants to support the care needs of the pupils attending the school.

A programme for reconfiguration of children’s disability services is under way in Dublin west and the south city as part of the Government’s progressing disability services for children and young people programme. The national programme is changing the way services are provided across the country to make access to services equitable and consistent for all. It also recognises that children with complex needs may present with needs across several areas and that services provided in isolation within one environment of a child’s life is not appropriate.

Therefore, support and intervention is provided in a variety of environments, including home, school, clinic and community settings. When the services are reconfigured all resources currently available in the area, voluntary and statutory, will be centralised and reconfigured into children's network disability teams. Children currently attending the St. John of God School, lslandbridge will be among the cohort of children affected by the reconfiguration of new teams in the community as part of the process. In the interim, children can be referred to the current school-age team in the community. The proposed reconfiguration of services is scheduled to take place in the fourth quarter of 2018. I will come back to Deputy Collins on some of the issues she has raised.

See this speech in context