Results 9,781-9,800 of 10,837 for speaker:Anne Rabbitte

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Care Services (18 Jun 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: There is no doubt that we have had challenges with recruiting staff. Funding has been provided. The Deputy has mentioned all the brilliant organisations in his area. When they are working at full tilt in the Cork area, they are providing 10,000 bed nights on an annual basis. That is just Cork alone. He talked about Enable's Lavanagh House. That has not got full capacity yet. It is...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Care Services (18 Jun 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: There is no doubt that respite is not one-size-fits-all. Respite needs to be a suite of measures whether it is after-school, Saturday clubs, sibling clubs or holiday camps as well as the in-home support, the residential part of it, the shared care and the home support. It is a suite of measures. Where families are finding that the in-home support is not actually meeting their needs, that...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (18 Jun 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: Both the Government and the HSE acknowledge the ongoing challenges faced with the delivery of therapies for children with autism and their families. Disability services are provided based on the presenting needs of an individual assessment according to the person’s requirements and care needs. The HSE is focused on implementing the actions of the PDS roadmap which will target...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (18 Jun 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: When looking at the alternatives, the Deputy is right about the AAC devices. That is why we funded AsIAm this year to purchase more assistive technology devices. The HSE and the Department of Education are purchasing in whole. AsIAm will purchase the guts of 600 devices to be made available to children. Not only will they be made available to children, but they will also be enhanced with...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (18 Jun 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: I would say he would.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (18 Jun 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: My own connection with Variety is that I fund them. For clarity, it is the guts of €440,000 annually.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (18 Jun 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: It is from the Department, thanks to the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman. We play an important role. It is also important to inform the House that in recent weeks, we signed an agreement with the WHO, which has given us a lever into the next five years of assistive technology and looking at best practices, new models and how we can partner with a larger grouping to see where the best models for...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (18 Jun 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: The HSE, either directly or indirectly through a range of voluntary and private service providers, provides a range of assisted living services including PA and home support services. Some 80% of specialised disability provision is delivered through non-statutory sector service providers. PA services provide one-to-one support to people with physical disabilities in their homes and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (18 Jun 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: With regard to the individual case the Deputy mentioned, officials in the Department have contacted the HSE and a response will issue to her in due course. It is being dealt with, therefore. There is no doubt we do not have enough PA hours or personal assistants to provide them. Nevertheless, as part of the transfer of function, this was one of the issues on which we were able to shine...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (18 Jun 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: Absolutely. On the reform of PA hours, even though we are spending so much on PAs, at in excess of €60 million on PA support, we do not have it underpinned with a proper framework, so work is ongoing in that regard and we are engaging with stakeholders on the review while, at the same time, ensuring we do not stop the delivery of hours or the roll-out. We are also looking to see what...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Service Executive (18 Jun 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: I thank the Deputy for raising this question. It is a little bit like Cinderella at this hour, 12 midnight, and Deputy O'Sullivan appears. To be honest, we normally never get to deal with this number of questions. It is the first time we have done it, so I am answering this one totally unscripted. Luckily, I was at the committee today and I do remember what was said to his question. ...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Service Executive (18 Jun 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: Deputy O'Sullivan is right. We managed to clear the backlog with the funding that was sourced in 2020 when we had 6,500 children waiting for an assessment of need. It took us approximately 14 months to clear the entire backlog. Why have we found ourselves here again? We have found ourselves here again because of the soft model, which is the standard operational procedure, SOP, which meant...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Service Executive (18 Jun 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: This is a new concept I was not completely aware of, namely, that we have 63 specific speech and language disorder, SSLD, classes in the country, which are speech and language classes for children with very set criteria who have verbal dyspraxia. There are seven in a class with the lead teacher and a speech and language therapist. They know that with regular daily intervention over a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Special Educational Needs (18 Jun 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: I thank Deputy O'Sullivan very much. I have no doubt, given he is a Cork TD, that the introduction of therapists to special schools is primarily focused on Cork schools. To be honest with him, a comprehensive submission has been made in recent days by David Walsh and Bernard O'Regan. Officials in the Department have been meeting with the CEO of the HSE to address the introduction of the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Special Educational Needs (18 Jun 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: In relation to special schools, this has now been going on for in excess of two years. It was in May 2021 that we placed a pause on the removal of therapists from special schools. We then sourced our secure funding for 86 therapists to be replaced into schools. Overall, we secured funding for 221 therapists, and only 126 have been returned. When I say “returned”, I mean that...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Special Educational Needs (18 Jun 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: As I said to the Deputy, of the 221 whole-time equivalent posts, 126 have been filled. Wherever they are in the country, at this stage there is a shortfall of more than 700 whole-time equivalent staff on our CDNT teams, which have a role in supporting our special schools. The Wexford model has been phenomenal in the sense that there has been real collaboration there. I have no doubt the...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Jun 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: I thank the Deputy for the question on the autism innovation strategy. It is in its final stages and we hope to have it published within the next three weeks. It is not just within the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth but the autism innovation strategy takes a cross-government approach. I look forward to having it launched and to sharing it with Cara,...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Jun 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. Like every other year, the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, will be holding consultation with all the various groupings. She plans on having a consultation again this year. Like every year, she has been very open and supportive and I have no doubt she will be the same this year again.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Jun 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter which was also raised earlier on as part of the questions. The Taoiseach, the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, and I are meeting Cara and her parents tomorrow at 1 p.m. We will address the four points the Deputy mentioned. It is important to have on the record of the Dáil that €11.89 million has been put in place for long waiters so...