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

I appreciate the Deputy raising this issue. She referred to the transfer of disability policy and functions from the Department of Health to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. That was a deliberate decision. In fact, before the last general election there was much commentary on disability services and there was a view that for the medium term it would be better if there was a more singular focus on disability by a new Department. The view was that within the enormity of the Department of Health and all the issues in that Department disability was not getting the type of focus that it should under that statutory framework and delivery system. That was the motivation behind it and it is one I support. There have been challenges, as there always are, when it comes to transferring services from one Department to another, particularly in the delivery mechanisms.

Second, there has been additional funding. New funding of approximately €65 million has been allocated to disability services in the budget for 2022. Of that, approximately €9 million is for respite care services. That said, I am not satisfied with where we are in respect of disability services, and I want to be candid about that, and particularly with regard to respite and the provision of therapies to children. For a number of years the HSE has developed a progressing disability services programme and approach, and the Government has allocated additional funding to the HSE in respect of therapists. I am still not satisfied that the translation, as it were, of that resource to parents on the ground is happening to the degree that it should. In an earlier era, I was involved in developing new schools for occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech and language therapy in the colleges outside Dublin, so we have a regional spread in terms of providing more graduates. However, it is not translating to the degree that it should in terms of services for children.

I acknowledge what the Deputy said about the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, and others. I also acknowledge we have more work to do in that regard, particularly on the provision of therapies and respite services. There has been ongoing progress with after-school services, community initiatives, personal assistant hours, school-leavers day services and so forth. Again, we believe that shift from the Department of Health to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is the right decision, ultimately, in terms of having a focused delivery mechanism. Capacities have to be built up, as well as proper integration between those delivering services on the ground with the parent Department.

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