Results 3,521-3,540 of 22,424 for speaker:Finian McGrath

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: I will update the committee.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: On identifying people with disabilities, I accept that we must ensure that when it is discovered that a child or a new baby has a disability that there are early intervention services available. Yesterday, I took a debate in the Dáil on the problems in CAMHS. The honest answer is that we are putting more money into the services. I admit that there is a problem recruiting...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: I agree with the Deputy's call for us to shine a light on the cognitive assessment area and the assessment of need. I assure him that a debate is taking place. The latest reports that I have had from the HSE and the Department of Health is that internal discussions are taking place and there should be a cohesive response in the next few weeks. Some parents and professionals have made me...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: The process is ongoing and I am not aware of when the final outcome will be. However, I expect it will be soon. I was told that two weeks ago.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: I am reluctant to go into the details. I do not want to upset any side involved. I will come back to the Deputy with a more detailed response from the HSE and the Department.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: This meeting is to focus on justice issues.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: Yes, but we are moving into the health area.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: No, if the talks are going on-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: The talks are dealing with issues regarding the delivery of services for children, including cognitive assessments and assessments of needs. These discussions are ongoing. I will come back to the Deputy when I have a final response and when my information is up to date and accurate.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: I responded. I said I will come back to the Deputy and the Chairman with the details of the response. Basically, we are talking about the cognitive assessment and assessment of need. That is the basis of the discussions. The significant issue is we want to ensure the assessments of the children are accurate and they lead to the services needed.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: The issue was that some people were not happy with the delivery of the services.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: If the discussions are not concluded, how can I-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: I am after giving the Deputy a commitment that I will come back to him with all the facts when I have them available to me. How can I give him facts if we have not concluded the talks? These are health issues.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: Absolutely.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: Of course, I will come back to the committee. I recognise it is part of the disability debate. In the morning that was in it, I thought we were focussed on the justice aspect of disability.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act provides a statutory modern framework to support decision-making by adults with capacity difficulties. The Act was signed into law on 30 December 2015. Budget 2018 provided an allocation of €3 million for the Decision Support Service under a new subhead, D10, of the justice and equality Vote. The commencement of the provision of the Act is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: I will come back to the Deputy with a more detailed response from the Department and the Minister for Health. I think it will take two years.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: Yes, because we want to be prepared. The whole strategy was that ratification of the UN convention was an important step. The Department of Health organised a consultation process on this issue. We advertised in the newspapers and we received many submissions from senior citizens, as well as disability and mental health groups. It proved more complex than we thought. The Minister for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: Yes, we can provide an up-to-date roadmap on this. The NDA is working on 11 codes of practice on this issue. The work is slow because the issues are complex.