Paul Connaughton (Galway East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for the opportunity to raise this important issue. Given the country's current perilous financial situation, Deputies on all sides of the House are only too well aware of the harsh budgets cuts that need to be made to ensure Ireland regains its sovereignty and turns the current economic tide. However, what is imperative is that we continue to protect services to the most vulnerable citizens among us and, thus, it is imperative that funding for organisations that provide services to people with disabilities are maintained.

Associations such as Ability West and the services provided by the Brothers of Charity are just two instances of services that must be protected amid the forthcoming cuts. Ability West was set up in 1962 by parents and friends of people with intellectual disabilities. It provides high quality services and supports to more than 480 children and adults with an intellectual disability in 55 centres in Galway city and county. As a voluntary organisation, it already relies heavily on fund-raising events and is currently organising everything from cookery demonstrations to fashion shows and Christmas draws in an effort to continue its current service levels. Any change to the funding of such organisations would have a huge impact on every one of those 480 families, many of whom are already struggling financially.

The Brothers of Charity service is another such service that provides a very important service. In Galway alone, the Brothers of Charity cater for more than 1,000 people with intellectual disabilities. Its services are divided equally between children and adults, with an emphasis on community-based services such as early childhood services and supported employment to name but two. Half of those clients attend centre-based services, while the other half are supported in their local preschools, schools or other community settings. The Brothers of Charity Services Galway currently operates with an annual budget of €51 million, with the principal funding coming from the HSE.

Any cut in funding would have a devastating effect on organisations that work with people with intellectual disabilities. It would discourage those people already volunteering with such organisations, it would demoralise staff and result in redundancies, it would create even more worry for the families of people with intellectual disabilities, but most importantly it would have a direct and negative impact on the quality of life enjoyed by people with intellectual disabilities, people who very often are not in a position to lobby politicians or demonstrate outside Leinster House or take on any of the very visible campaigns that have been mounted by other groups. However, it is imperative that their needs be taken into account as this budget, which everyone recognises will be harsh, is drawn up.

The welfare of children with special needs must be a top priority during coming years as severe budgets continue. A structure has been put in place through the hard work and dedication in recent years and decades, which features tailor-made solutions to the needs of individual children and adults, providing them with the educational support they need, often in a local or community setting, by working with their parents and building up strong relationships. That work must be recognised in the forthcoming budget.

I fully recognise that the Minister for Finance and the Minister of State present are faced with a hugely difficult task in framing the coming budget, and that everyone will have to feel the repercussions of the fact that we as a country are currently spending money we do not have and that we will find it difficult to access money given the European debt crisis, but the most vulnerable people in society must be shielded from the worst brunt of the coming cuts. I ask the Minister of State to ensure that protecting services for the most vulnerable in our society remains a top priority in these crucial weeks as budget matters are finalised.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank Deputy Connaughton for raising this matter. Under the Health Act 2004 the HSE is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services, including all disability services. Expenditure on health services for people with a disability in the current year will be approximately €1.5 billion, with an overall staffing level of 15,800 whole-time equivalents. The majority of that funding is used by the non-statutory agencies providing services, including Ability West. The integral role of these agencies is of particular relevance to the provision of health and personal social services to people with a disability. These agencies provide a very significant and broad range of services in partnership with and on behalf of the HSE.

I am aware that Ability West, for example, provides a wide range of community-based day, residential and support services to an average of 500 children and adults with an intellectual disability within Galway city and county, and that it is also patron to four special schools in the county, providing health related supports as required. Ability West is funded by the HSE under section 39 of the Health Act 2004. Services are provided through a service level agreement which is reviewed annually. The HSE provided funding of €22.5 million to Ability West this year.

As noted above, expenditure on health services for people with a disability in the current year will be around €1.5 billion. Special consideration was given to disability and mental health in the 2011 budget through a maximum reduction of just 1.8% in the allocation for the two sectors. The relatively lower reduction of 1.8%, compared with other areas of the health budget, recognises that these services are provided to vulnerable groups and should help to ensure that existing services are maintained and that priority is given to the delivery of front-line services. The HSE has informed me that it is working closely with service providers in 2011, including Ability West, to ensure the maximum delivery of services in an efficient and effective manner, with priority being given to those in greatest need. The HSE was provided with an additional €10 million for disability services this year to provide for the anticipated extra demand in emergency residential, respite and personal assistant-home support hours for people with disabilities, and day places for school leavers in September of this year. Taking the reduction in the overall HSE disability budget into account, the HSE was asked to manage the additional resources and engage with service providers to ensure that existing support needs, and demands for additional places and supports, are managed effectively within the overall allocation.

The level of funding available for the overall health budget is being considered as part of the comprehensive review of expenditure and Estimates process for 2012 which is currently under way. Deliberations by the Government on the expenditure allocations for next year are likely to continue right up to budget time and it would not be appropriate for me to comment further at this stage pending the outcome of those deliberations. The very difficult financial position facing the Exchequer will obviously require very careful management across all areas of expenditure.

A major priority for the Government in the coming months will be to finalise the current value for money and policy review of disability services to ensure that existing funding for people with disabilities is spent to best effect. The review is expected to be completed by the end of this year. It will make recommendations that will ensure that the very substantial funding provided to the specialist disability health sector is used to maximum benefit for persons with a disability, having regard to overall resource constraints which affect all sectors at this difficult time. I thank the Deputy again for raising this matter.

Paul Connaughton (Galway East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank the Minister of State for her reply. While I understand that no decision will be made at this stage two weeks in advance of the budget, it is important that consultation continues between the organisations and the Minister. I know from meeting representatives of the organisations that they are very open to working within the budget they are given. Like many organisations, they have experienced many cuts during recent years and are now surviving on a very strict budget. Any further harsh cuts will severely affect their ability to provide the services they deliver. I ask that before any budget decisions are made, these organisations be involved in those discussions to give them every opportunity to see how they can best deliver these services. These are the most vulnerable people in society and we must do everything we can to protect them. The only way to do that is to work with the service providers.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I fully accept the points made by the Deputy in this regard. I will relay those views to the Minister of State, Deputy Lynch, who has responsibility for this area. I can assure the Deputy that the circumstances in which we are operating are very difficult and it is always to the fore of everybody's mind in government to ensure in so far as we possibly can that services for the most vulnerable are protected.