John Cregan (Limerick West, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for facilitating me in raising this important issue, which concerns not alone my constituency but many others throughout the country. I am a member of the Government party and have voted for various adjustments and cutbacks that were deemed necessary in the past few years. I did so because I felt it was the right thing to do at the time. I am not coming back as a hypocrite to say that we should not have done so and that we now want to give more money to these people. I am simply asking the Government to examine this particular sector of our society. From time to time and for different reasons, we describe various sections as being vulnerable. Unlike many Members of this House, these people are not able-bodied and have a difficult path in life.

I have been contacted recently by the parents of those who are attending the Brothers of Charity in Newcastle West, St. Joseph's Foundation in Charleville, St. Vincent's in Lisnagry and other such facilities in my constituency. There is grave concern about plans that may have to be adopted in the coming months. In the past few years, unfortunately, budgets have had to be reduced in this particular sector. Despite this they were able to carry on and made the most of it. They did their best and, to be fair to them, they are providing a wonderful service. Nonetheless, I am concerned about the current situation. We are facing into another difficult budget and will have to examine all sectors of society to see where savings can be made. We are spending a huge amount of money in our health service. Some years ago, the House decided to give a budget to the HSE, which is responsible for operating those services. The people to whom I have referred are dependent on judgment calls by the HSE as to the amount of funding they will receive at any given time.

Sometimes I have to wonder when I see moneys being spent in other ways, of which we are all well aware, while parts of the health service must put up with very limited budgets. Adults and children who use the services provided by the Brothers of Charity have been advised that, from September, the canteen will close, so they will have to bring packed lunches instead. That really disturbs me, as it does also the parents of those involved. Many of those parents are aged and have genuine concerns because they want to give the best to their sons and daughters. They want to ensure that when they pass on to their eternal reward, the necessary services will be there to look after their children in comfort and dignity. That is very important.

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Connick, for attending the House to reply to this Adjournment matter. We are talking about a very vulnerable group who have suffered quite enough through their disabilities. I, for one, do not want to see them being asked to bring a packed lunch to their schools or workshops. Surely to God we can find the necessary funding to give them that comfort. We must also support their parents who are anxious for their children to be looked after in a dignified and reasonable way.

Seán Connick (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I am replying to this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children. I thank Deputy Cregan for raising this matter and I am pleased to take this opportunity to outline the position on the funding of the Brothers of Charity services in Limerick.

I would like to reaffirm the Government's commitment to the national disability strategy and its long-term goals and objectives, which we will continue to pursue in the coming years in partnership with all the stakeholders. Government policy and best practice recognise that clients and service users need to be at the centre of service delivery. On an ongoing basis, we are examining the way in which services are currently delivered to ensure that people with disabilities are provided with the best possible services in an efficient and appropriate manner.

The Government has an ongoing commitment to provide high-quality services to all people with a disability through the national disability strategy, which has the objective of putting in place the most effective combination of legislation, policies, institutional arrangements and services to support and reinforce equal participation for people with disabilities.

The national disability strategy is the framework currently being used to enact positive action measures to support the participation of people with disabilities in Irish society. The Government's commitment in the areas of disability and mental health is consistent. Overall, approximately €1.6 billion is spent annually by the health services on disability programmes, including residential, day care, respite, assessments and rehabilitation services.

In recent years, significant additional resources have been provided for services and supports in this area. The multi-annual investment programme 2006-09, which is a key component of the Government's disability strategy, had by the end of 2008 provided for approximately 804 new residential places, 307 new respite places and 1,863 new day places for the intellectual disability service. In addition, it had provided 275 new residential places, and 911,626 extra home care-personal assistance hours for people with physical and sensory disabilities.

Regarding the matter raised by the Deputy, I wish to inform the House that the Health Service Executive has advised the Minister for Health and Children that it is very much aware of the valuable contribution the Brothers of Charity services make to the provision of services to people with intellectual disabilities in Limerick. The HSE is also aware of the challenges service providers, including the Brothers of Charity, are experiencing this year.

The achievement of further efficiencies in disability services in 2010 requires that savings in funding to non-statutory providers, including the Brothers of Charity, are planned to ensure that there is a consistency of approach nationally, with the loss of front line services avoided as far as possible.

The reduction in the 2010 cash allocation identified relates to staff pay reductions in line with national guidelines; the Government moratorium on recruitment; and a minimum of a 2% efficiency saving to be applied to non-front line services. The latter include, for example, non-pay expenditure, transport costs, rationalising management structures, merging service functions and merging service providers, without impacting on users of front line services.

The HSE has advised that the approach taken is compatible with, and informed by, the aims and objectives of the value for money and policy review in disability services, currently being led by the Office of Disabilities and Mental Health.

As a consequence of the introduction of cost containment and efficiency measures in the 2010 budget, it is understood that the HSE advised all the agencies providing services on its behalf, of their financial allocations for 2010 and the required adjustments. The HSE plans to maintain access to appropriate treatments and services for clients during 2010 despite the current resource pressures. The HSE is aware of the challenges which this reduction in allocations will present to organisations in ensuring that they meet the needs of service users, and in planning for emergencies that arise throughout the year. It also recognises that maintaining service levels within available resources will require significant levels of co-operation, change, flexibility and creativity. All disability service providers in the Limerick area have been requested to advise and discuss, with HSE management, challenges they are experiencing, prior to cuts or changes to service provision being implemented. There are also plans to develop a local forum of all service providers - both physical and sensory, and intellectual disability - with a focus on the needs of service users now and in the future.

The HSE is aware of the challenge for the Brothers of Charity to maintain existing service levels and to respond to the respite needs of service users. While the Brothers of Charity have applied significant changes to front line services, in many cases these changes have not necessarily resulted in service reduction, but in a different model of service delivery being applied. The HSE will continue to work in partnership with the Brothers of Charity in dealing with issues that arise from service cuts, to ensure that the needs of service users are prioritised and addressed.