Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I propose amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "That Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that:

— this Government is committed to expanding services for people with disabilities and developing a more integrated and person-centred policy approach to disability services;

— this commitment is reflected in the budget for disability services which has increased in recent years from €1.7 billion at the close of 2017 to close to €2.8 billion in 2024;

— an additional €195 million will be invested in specialist disability services for 2024, bringing total investment to €2.8 billion;

— funding of €131 million is being allocated to ensure that the full year cost of additional services provided this year is met and funding of €64 million will provide greater investment in a range of new development measures across a range of disability services;

— while once off inflationary funding provided in Budget 2023 was not repeated in Budget 2024, the existing levels of service provision for disability services did take account of increased cost of service provision;

— the Disability Action Plan 2024 – 2026 was approved by Government in July of this year and is currently being prepared for publication and aims to progressively address unmet needs by enhancing and reforming services; and a total of €56 million in additional funding has been allocated to the implementation of Action Plan measures in 2024;

— specifically:

— €20.5 million in extra funding for disability residential services for adults and children to deliver approximately 100 new residential places;

— €10 million in respite services to build on existing provision, to provide more alternative respite such as in homes, after-school and deliver new or enhanced services to families;

— €18.2 million for placements in adult day services for 1,250-1,400 young people leaving school in 2024 and €23.7 million in funding to provide for the full cost of school leavers in 2023; and

— €2 million additional funding in personal assistant services to promote independent living, delivering around 80,000 additional hours, continued investment in home support services, and €1.4 million for specialist community supports for people with neurological impairments;

— the Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People (PDS) Roadmap will be published later this month and aims to achieve a quality, accessible, equitable and timely service for children with complex needs and their families;

— the PDS Roadmap will include a range of measures to enhance the recruitment and retention of staff to Children's Network Disability Teams (CDNTs);

— the Health Service Executive and its partner agencies are providing services for over 45,740 children at this time, across 91 CDNTs; and 1,300 experienced and deeply committed health and social care professionals and administrative staff across the country are working in partnership with these children and their families;

— in Budget 2024, an additional €8.5 million was provided to improve children's services, including the recruitment of additional therapy positions to bolster CDNTs (175), increasing third level places to develop additional capacity and targeted supports for specialist children's disability services;

— in addition, Capital investment of €23.7 million will provide for the upgrade and development of disability services;

— a dedicated budget in 2024 will also support a range of measures designed to further advance and implement the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), including the development and implementation of a new ambitious National Disability Strategy and an Autism Innovation Strategy;

— there will be a further call for funding under the Disability Participation and Awareness Fund in 2024 which will support projects across the country that will assist disabled people to participate in local and community life; and this will also include ring-fenced support for disabled persons organisations; and

— funding will be continued for employment supports for persons with disabilities through the Towards Work and Employers for Change Initiatives;

also notes that:

— additional investment in broader disability measures across Government was provided for in Estimates 2024;

— this includes employment-related supports, with a reduction in the minimum weekly hours' threshold for eligibility for the Wage Subsidy Scheme from 21 hours to 15 hours, which will help support people with disabilities into employment;

— an increase in the Carer's Allowance income disregard to €450 for a single person and €900 for a couple;

— people receiving Invalidity Pension, Disability Allowance or Blind Pension will also benefit from a once off payment of €400 in November 2023;

— a Christmas Bonus double payment to all persons getting a long-term disability payment;

— from January 2024 there will be an increase of €12 in maximum personal rate of weekly disability payments; and there will be proportionate increases for people getting a reduced rate;

— a cost of living bonus for people getting a weekly social welfare payment, to be paid in January 2024;

— Domiciliary Care Allowance to increase by €10 a month from January 2024; and

— additional funds are being allocated to the provision of free travel for people medically certified unfit to drive; and

further notes:

— the sustainability and stability of health and social care sectors and the impact of industrial action on essential services is a concern for Government; and section 39 organisations have seen overall disability funding increase from €531 million in 2018 to approximately €707 million in 2023;

— that the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and the Department of Health, following intensive talks under the auspices of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), have reached a pay agreement with unions representing section 39 and section 56 employees;

— that this agreement has resulted in the postponement of industrial action by staff working in section 39 and section 56 organisations as they consider the pay deal proposed; and

— that the Programme for Government: Our Shared Future contains a commitment to ratify the Optional Protocol after the first reporting cycle under the UNCRPD has concluded; the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is currently working to scope out the requirements for earlier ratification; this scoping work is required due to the long-standing position of the State in relation to honouring international agreements; and it is a priority for Government to ensure that the Optional Protocol is ratified at the earliest possible date.".

A central element of this commitment is the publication and implementation of the disability action plan, which was approved by the Government in July of this year. This plan will be a living document which will be reviewed and updated in light of priorities, policy considerations and the funding available. In budget 2024, funding of €56 million has been allocated to support the delivery of the first year of the action plan. In conjunction with the HSE, my Department is now examining the deliverables that can be achieved within the first year of the plan. The precise breakdown of measures will be set out in the HSE’s national service plan. In addition to the funding provided for the disability action plan, a further €8.5 million was allocated to support the roll-out of the children’s services roadmap, which we intend to launch by the end of this month.

I am very aware that the implementation of these strategies cannot happen quickly enough for those awaiting access to services and their families. I am confident that the allocation for 2024 will allow for crucial investment in these very important services. In response to the question raised by Deputy Cullinane, in budget 2023, the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform allocated €110 million to a range of health funded bodies, including nursing homes, hospices and section 39 organisations, to address the pressures that rising prices, and energy costs in particular, were putting on the delivery of vital public services. This additional funding for the health sector provided further once-off support in 2023 for organisations that deliver important services across areas such as disabilities, older persons and mental health in the context of the significant inflationary challenges being faced. While this funding was provided on a once-off basis and is not repeated in budget 2024, account was taken of the increased cost of service provision in setting a substantially increased existing level of service, ELS, allocation for disability services this year. This is an allocation of €131 million as opposed to the allocation of €109 million in 2023.

Regarding the rights of persons with disabilities, the motion references the ratification of the optional protocol to the UNCRPD. Ratification of the optional protocol is a commitment in the programme for Government and the Government will fulfil that commitment. The timeline for ratifying the optional protocol was anticipated to begin following the conclusion of Ireland’s first review period before the UN committee. This has not taken place yet because of delays at UN level that are outside of Ireland’s control. Ireland submitted its first state report in November 2021 and we continue to await a review date from the UN committee. In light of this, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and I have both indicated that we are open to the earlier ratification of the optional protocol. Our Department has already commenced the necessary scoping exercise to ascertain the requirements for ratifying the optional protocol at the earliest opportunity. This scoping work is a procedurally necessary exercise in due diligence for the State to agree to any supranational and quasi-judicial process and is in keeping with the State’s long-standing position on the ratification of internationally binding treaties. As a country that takes its international obligations extremely seriously and which seeks to act in good faith on the international stage, Ireland does not enter into binding international treaties until we are confident that the obligations set out within can be complied with.

While an exact date for ratification of the optional protocol cannot be given right now, it is my priority to ensure that ratification takes place at the earliest possible date and independent of the timeline originally envisaged in the programme for Government. Ireland continues to implement and continuously advance all rights in the convention on a mainstream-first basis through law and policy, and this will be further strengthened with the development of the next national disability strategy.

I will also address the references in the motion to the Government's strategy in relation to access to mental health services for people with disabilities. Sharing the Vision is the Government's policy framework for the continued development and enhancement of mental health services in Ireland. While it is recognised that there is an increased prevalence of mental health problems within the intellectual disability population, people with an intellectual disability can access support from mental health services in the same way as the general population, within a framework that is multidisciplinary and based on catchment area.

The mental health intellectual disability, MHID, model of care was developed to provide a national vision and strategic direction for the implementation of specialist MHID teams providing person-centred services consistently across the country. The model recognises the strengths of existing services while acknowledging the challenges that must be faced. Teams provide mental health services to people with moderate to severe intellectual disability and work together with colleagues in other mental health and disability services to provide a nationally agreed quality of care programme. The model also provides that solutions for people with intellectual disability and mental health needs lie in establishing effective partnerships between healthcare providers, service users and their carers in a community-wide context. There is ongoing significant engagement with all community health organisations, CHOs, to ensure that all possible steps are undertaken on recruitment to strengthen existing community teams.

We acknowledge that there are key challenges that must be addressed if disability services are to fully meet the needs and expectations of those that require them. In the eight months since responsibility for disability services was transferred to my Department, we have passed the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Act 2022 and fully established the decision support service. With the imminent publication of the action plan for disability services and the roadmap for children’s disability services, we are setting out a path to enable a step change in service capacity. We are developing a clear pathway forward to underpin future investment in these areas, commencing with budget 2024, and we are addressing long-standing issues like pay and equality that undermine the ability of organisations to deliver services. There are huge challenges in the field of disability but we have started to make meaningful changes. We will continue to increase investment, improve services and make lives better for people with disabilities throughout this country. I commend the amendment to the House.

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