Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

First, I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I accept that many families and many people with special needs and disabilities have had an extremely stressful and tough time during this pandemic with the withdrawal of services and the curtailment of services because specific Covid-19 health requirements have made the circumstances and conditions very stressful. I acknowledge that it is on top of additional stress that was there already. Throughout my political life I have worked hard on the disability issue, in particular in regard to special needs education. I am determined to make sure that we do everything we possibly can to alleviate the pressures that families and people are currently operating under.

Covid-19 has not made this easy. A three-phase plan has been outlined for the resumption of adult day services. Additional funding has been allocated to that plan to enable services to resume. There will be further difficulties and constraints now because of the fact that we have moved to level 3 and the pandemic case numbers are growing, which will make this particularly challenging.

The budget is next week. Disability and the need for additional funding has been discussed by the Government. I know the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, is particularly conscious of this, as are the Minister of State with responsibility for disability, Deputy Rabbitte, the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly and as is the wider Government on the need to do this.

Day services have reopened at 40% capacity throughout August and early September. That said, that is still far short of what people require and need. We are also very conscious of the need to provide support for specific packages and intensive support packages for young adults with complex or high-support needs to remain at home and in their communities. A total of €2.5 million in additional funding is being provided to enable some 210 intensive support packages to be provided. These will be person-centred and tailored to the needs of individuals and their families.

In addition, there will be constant engagement between the HSE and the service providers to make sure that there is a clear understanding about what is required and the need to provide the funding, while ensuring that the services can be restored in line with the Covid restrictions. Approximately €484 million was allocated to day services in 2020. Additional costs have arisen for service providers in the provision of safe services. That has been acknowledged by the Government and we will respond to that. School-leavers who require a day service have been introduced to a new service during September and ring-fenced resources have been provided to facilitate that as part of the HSE's national service plan.

In terms of children's disability services generally, we will continue to try to reopen them across all areas and to put in place the appropriate arrangements to resume assessment of need and intervention therapy services in line with public health guidance. In addition, short-stay residential and emergency residential respite began to reopen in July and August as the first stage in a three-phase plan. Activity is now increasing for the next two phases, namely, the September to November phase and then the phase from December to February 2021. The budget is important in terms of making sure that we provide additional adequate resources to all involved in disability services. We are working on that between now and the budget and also between now and the end of the year to see what additional resources we can provide to the service providers to enable them to reopen services consistent with public health safety requirements.

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