Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to provide some clarity and reassurance to the House that disability service providers are exempt from the extended recruitment freeze. Unfortunately, when I was listening to the commentary earlier on, I did not feel that was quite understood and I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, for giving me the opportunity to clarify this. The exemption includes section 38 and section 39 service providers, as well as HSE disability services.

I heard one of Deputy Cullinane's colleagues - I think it was Deputy Duncan Smith - saying a CDNT manager could not be recruited as the pause was in place. I want to know about such instances because I do not have an embargo. As Minister of State with responsibility for disability, I welcomed specific derogations for categories of staff employed across the HSE section 38 disability services from the HSE recruitment pause on 9 November 2023.

Since assuming responsibility for disability services in March this year, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has committed to investing in the sector and improving outcomes for service users through the expansion, enhancement and reform of services, including the creation of additional services and posts and recruitment to these positions. I and the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, and the Department have engaged extensively and consistently with the HSE since the announcement of the pause to ensure disability services are not unduly affected. The HSE confirmed the existence of an exemption for health and social care posts, as well as prioritisation and redeployment from within existing resources. In addition, the HSE has agreed to additional derogations in respect of specific categories within disability. These will include medical staff, domestic staff, drivers, service co-ordinators, area managers, family support workers, day service supervisors, care assistants, social care workers and personal assistants. I acknowledge the role played in this by Bernard Gloster as CEO and that of Ciarán Devane, chair of the board. I have spent the past three years saying that I do not have enough staff. We have deficits on all our CDNT teams. This will give me an opportunity to recruit in by not having a pause. I do not accept the carte blanchesuggestion that the areas for which I am responsible will be treated like other areas of health in the context of the pause.

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