Results 1-20 of 2,199 for at speaker:Anne Rabbitte

Ceisteanna Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 May 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: On the childcare issue, I know the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, in recent weeks allocated two lots of funding to address the issue in regard to capacity. I will raise the issue that the Deputy has raised with regard to Kilkenny. The issue of ASD places was discussed at the Cabinet subcommittee on Monday. It is a priority that no child will be without a place by September.

Ceisteanna Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 May 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue, which is one that was raised at the Cabinet subcommittee last Monday. It is getting prioritisation, as the Cabinet subcommittee deals specifically with youth, education and disabilities. That is an issue that was raised and we are addressing it as a priority.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Reviews (9 May 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: ...and Capacity Demand to 2032. This review set out the extra capacity requirements for community disability services up to 2032, based on an analysis of demographic trends and unmet need. The Review estimated that between €550m and €1000m would be needed to bring service levels to the required capacity. In order to implement the recommendations of the Capacity Review, a...

Seanad: Disability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (8 May 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: At what time is the debate to adjourn? I want to allow Senator Clonan to speak to sections 2 and 3.

Seanad: Disability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (8 May 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: That is great. I thank the Acting Chairperson. I also thank Senator Clonan for the opportunity to be here for Committee Stage of the Bill. If it was simple, it would have been done many years ago. Is that not the case? We would not be sitting here today. It is important to say that I will not be opposing the Bill by any manner of means. That is the first point. I want to talk to the...

Seanad: Disability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (8 May 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: I thank Senator Clonan for his powerful contribution. The Government is fully committed to the delivery of an appropriate and accessible service for children with disabilities and their families and to radical transformation in the disability sector. The first step in that was taking disability out of the Department of Health and bringing it to the Department of equality. We all have...

Seanad: Disability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (8 May 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: Yet again, I thank Senator Clonan and all in the House for this Bill this evening. There is no doubt that I cannot do this alone. It has to be a whole-of-government, whole-of-Seanad, and whole-of-Oireachtas approach to address the unmet need within interventions and the assessment of need. Senator Clonan is correct that there is a cost. There is a cost to the training and ensuring that...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Rights of People with Disabilities (8 May 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: Ratification of the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) is a commitment in the Programme for Government, and I remain committed to ratification at the earliest possible date. Ireland ratified the UNCRPD on 20 March 2018 and continues to implement the Convention on the basis of the continuous advancement of rights. Ireland...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Strategies (8 May 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: The National Disability Strategy is at an advanced stage of development, and my Department is leading discussions across government for the development of a framework for ambitious and transformative action on disability. At a time when actions to be delivered under the strategy are still in development and have not been finalised, no costings are available for the full implementation of...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (1 May 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: .... There is a whole-of-government approach to addressing the assessment of needs, under the stewardship of the Taoiseach. We have already met on the issue and option papers are being developed at this time. Regarding the use of the word "was", funding was secured in 2020 to clear the backlog of assessment of needs at that point; it was cleared completely. In each budget since then, we...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (30 Apr 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to update the House on the four children’s disability network teams, CDNTs, in County Meath. Network 2, where the HSE is the lead agency, covers Kells, Oldcastle and north Meath, while network 6, also led by the HSE, covers Athboy, Dunboyne, Enfield, Summerhill and Trim. Enable Ireland is the lead agency for network 4, covering...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (30 Apr 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: Every figure I read out relates to filled positions. They are 248 posts that were filled over the past four years. The staff in whole-time equivalents is at 70% in County Meath. CHO 8 covers many counties, but in the Deputy's county it covers those four teams. That is the up-to-date situation with filled positions as we speak. Let us be clear; there is still a vacancy rate of 30%. I am...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (30 Apr 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: Let me be very clear. The wording here is "Notwithstanding those challenges, staffing numbers across the four CDNTs now sits at 70.3 whole-time equivalents". It is not a percentage but whole-time equivalents. Are we training enough staff? In the past 12 months, I have set up a workforce planning group that I chair. All the lead agencies are part of it, along with the Department of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (30 Apr 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: I thank the Deputy for bringing me on to my specialist topic, which is unions. It is important to say with regard to the pay talks concluded last year that while it was very welcome, it has really highlighted the fact that we need the employers, which are the lead agencies of the section 39 organisations, more involved when it comes to pay negotiations and talks. The question is where it is...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (30 Apr 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: As there was over €40 million worth of applications into the respite grant application form, which is absolutely massive, they had to spend a lot of time going through it and validating. In fact, the whole purpose of the respite grant is to provide a balance where we have a shortage in our CDNT teams, the local organisations that have the capacity to support through music, art or...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (30 Apr 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: ...acknowledges the challenges faced by children and young people with disabilities and their families in accessing essential therapy services in Cavan and Monaghan. It is important to say that along with the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, and Deputies Brendan Smith and Niamh Smyth, I visited Monaghan in the past month and met the families concerned. Lead agencies are experiencing ongoing...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Health Services Staff (30 Apr 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: Carlow and Kilkenny are part of the South East Community healthcare region (CHO5) which comprises 13 CDNT teams in total. In relation to Carlow and Kilkenny Children’s Disability Network Teams (CDNTs), there are three CDNTs. These are Carlow CDNT, Thomastown CDNT and Kilkenny City CDNT. There are currently 4.2 Occupational therapists and 10.4 Speech and language therapists in this...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Disability Services (30 Apr 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: ...of challenges affecting the wider health and social care sector, and impacting on the ability of the HSE and other providers like the IWA to deliver services. To support the ability of organisations like the IWA to recruit and retain staff, the Department and its agencies proactively engaged with a Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) process with unions representing staff in Section...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Strategies (30 Apr 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: ...is committed to the expansion of specialist services for people with disabilities. The Action Plan for Disability Services 2024-2026, which I published on 14th December 2023, represents a national strategy for capacity increases and service and policy reform in disability services. It was informed primarily by findings from the Disability Capacity Review, published in 2021. The Plan was...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Bus Services (30 Apr 2024)

Anne Rabbitte: Transport is a key issue for persons with disabilities and as such it is a priority consideration. Ireland ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in March 2018, which clearly articulates that all State parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities have access, on an equal basis to others, to transportation....