Frank Fahey (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

I thank all the Senators for their very positive contributions to the sectoral plans. I also thank them for the recognition they have given to the great work done by the public servants in all the Departments involved with the plans. I express thanks to the officials in my Department and each of the other Departments who have put enormous work into the preparation of these plans and have had considerable consultation with the stakeholders and the public. This aspect has been especially useful and very satisfying. We are often accused of not having sufficient consultation. However, the response I have received from people in the disability sector is that they are very pleased.

Senator Terry referred to a holistic approach in linking each sectoral plan to the strategy statement and business plan. I agree with her comments in that respect. In addition to the monitoring and review mechanisms put in place by various Departments, it has been suggested that the sectoral plans' actions should now be embedded in the business plans and strategy statements of each sectoral plan Department. Such statements and business plans are prepared periodically and all the Departments intend to incorporate these commitments into their plans when preparing their next strategy statements and business plans. It will happen.

Senator Terry also referred to the need for a detailed debate in various committees, which is a matter for the relevant committees to advance. I will make her views known to the various Ministers. I am sure some discussion will take place at various departmental committee levels. There are arrangements for the involvement of stakeholders centrally in the monitoring of sectoral plans. The national disability strategy will be debated on an ongoing basis and a consultative process will be established. Discussions are taking place on the matter. It was raised in the Towards 2016 partnership discussions. We will shortly make an announcement on the arrangements for ongoing monitoring and consultation. Senator Kett also raised those issues.

Senator Terry also asked about the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act and the issue of standards. The standards are to be addressed by the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, which is in the process of being established. Pending the establishment of the HIQA, the Department of Health and Children has started to work on the development of standards in conjunction with the interim HIQA, the National Disability Authority and any other relevant stakeholders, including the Department of Education and Science, the Mental Health Commission, etc. That work is ongoing and the Department of Health and Children is making progress on the formal establishment of the HIQA.

Senator Brian Hayes mentioned enforcement of the 3% employment target. Under Part 5 of the Disability Act, the monitoring and enforcement of the provision has been vested in the National Disability Authority. Departments, public bodies and the NDA are progressing the transfer of these responsibilities and the general implementation of Part 5. I agree with the sentiments expressed by the Senator. It is vital to ensure that not alone are these employment targets adhered to, but that every effort is made to exceed them.

The Minister for Finance is responsible for the policy on the employment of people with disabilities in the public sector. He is also responsible for the collation of figures on various Departments and other public bodies, which is underpinned by the provisions of Part 5 of the Act. In other areas of the public sector, each Minister is responsible for compliance with and reporting on the target as set out in the Act for the employment of persons with disabilities in public bodies under his or her aegis. Ultimately, we will depend on the growing good will and sense of public duty to be found across the public and private sector for ensuring that the greatest effort is made to employ people with disabilities across the public and private sectors. The legislation exists to underpin this requirement if it is not happening to the extent we would like to see.

Senator Brian Hayes also spoke about timeframes regarding vocational training and education. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment sectoral plan sets out clear action timeframes for the various elements of its overall comprehensive employment strategy, particularly regarding the FÁS strategy for vocational training provision, and will work closely with other Departments, agencies and other stakeholders to ensure that these timeframes are met.

Senator Hayes also referred to the Health and Safety Authority. This year the Minister of State with responsibility for labour introduced the workplace safety code, which reinforces approaches of responsibility and voluntary commitment to ensure that individual places of work are safe and secure for all. The Health and Safety Authority will be asked to prepare guidelines by the end of 2007 on promoting safe and inclusive workplaces for people with disabilities. In addition, the workplace and well-being strategy being developed by the authority will include guidelines for employers to facilitate those who have workplace accidents, including acquired disability and illness, to return to work.

Senator Kett emphasised the question of interlocking Departments and having Departments pull together. We agree with that holistic approach. The Disability Act requires Departments to have joined up implementation, so to speak, and the sectoral plans make provision for that. For instance, there are overlapping responsibilities in the transport and environment areas, as Senator Kett said, and every effort is being made in the implementation process to ensure a synchronised approach, which we all agree is vital to the success of the plan, is taken.

From a practical point of view and dealing with people in various agencies, the Disability Act and the disability strategy have focused people's minds in a much greater way than has been the case previously. That type of inter-agency co-operation is beginning to yield significant results, which is to be welcomed.

Senator Kett also mentioned the question of the Department of Social and Family Affairs plan including matters such as examining the incentive effects of disability payment levels, addressing the benefit traps, the employment disincentives within the structure of welfare disability schemes and examining the potential for extending, improving and rationalising schemes to better support people in their efforts to take up training opportunities and employment. We fully concur with the Senator's comments. I am aware the Minister, Deputy Brennan, is anxious to ensure that in particular the benefit traps and the employment disincentives are overcome. They are now being supported by protocols agreed by various Departments. The Minister is actively examining that whole question.

Senator Quinn mentioned the commencement of the various initiatives under the legislation. As I indicated in my opening remarks, most of the provisions of the Disability Act have already commenced. The two remaining, Parts 2 and 6, will commence by 2007. Part 6 commences on 1 January 2007 and provides for the establishment of the centre for universal design in the National Disability Authority. We had much discussion on that area during the passing of the Bill. Some of the professions and experts were not as happy as they might be with our proposals but I can give an assurance to the House that there will be continuing negotiation by the NDA in the context of the setting up of the centre for universal design. I am anxious to ensure people's views are taken on board as this process is rolled out.

The rolling out of Part 2 will commence on 1 June 2007. The assessment of the needs of children under Part 5 will take place. Already, the Health Service Executive is working apace on putting in place a good, solid investment process in the most cost effective way. Assessments are taking place as we speak, although not in a formal way, but I am pleased about some of the innovative approaches now being taken by the HSE to the assessment process. I am confident that by June 2007, when the formal assessments will take place, we will have in place a good assessment procedure which will be a much more unified approach to the assessment process than what is taking place currently within individual service organisations.

The question of capacity was mentioned by a number of Senators, including Senator White in respect of pre-school children. It is generally accepted — Senators Kett and Terry mentioned it also — that there is a need to build capacity within these services to enable the HSE to meet its obligations. The process is under way but it will have to be built up over a number of years. It was also accepted, when the legislation was being drafted, that it would not be administratively feasible to introduce the implementation of this Part for everyone at the same time. Part 1, section 3, therefore, allows for a phased introduction of this Part. We are all anxious to see improvements in assessments as quickly as possible and I am satisfied those are taking place. As I mentioned, up to 1,000 extra posts are being created to enable that roll-out to take place as effectively as possible.

Senator Hanafin mentioned the focus of disability policy and programmes in the new social partnership agreement, Towards 2016. I concur with the points the Senator made in that respect. It is notable that the agreement places the sectoral plans at the centre of the Government's delivery on the social partnership commitments in the 2016 plan. Much good work took place in the context of the preparation of the partnership agreement, Towards 2016, in involving unions and employers in the partnership process in the roll-out of the disability strategy. I was pleased to see the amount of attention that was paid to the roll-out of the strategy.

On the comments made by the last two speakers, I concur with what both Senators have advocated, especially on the question of pre-school children and the need for us to respond quickly and in a satisfactory way. It is a frustrating experience for parents when they discover their young child has a disability or needs to be assessed for the possible extent of a disability. We would all concur with the need for the educational needs of the child to be determined immediately and a response put in place.

The question of speech therapy is probably the issue that hits us all initially. We agree with the need for more speech therapists. Senators will be aware that serious problems are occurring in terms of the number of speech therapists that are available and because of that new courses are being commenced in universities. We are unable to recruit a sufficient number of speech therapists in time. A programme is being rolled out currently by the HSE to actively recruit speech therapists in any part of the world. It remains a difficulty and while money is always an issue, the availability of people with the required expertise is an issue also.

To return to the question of the assessment of needs, any child with a disability may be assessed under the Disability Act 2005 or under the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004. Health needs identified in an assessment under the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 will be dealt with in a service statement under the Disability Act. This is very important because duplication has occurred in the past. There often have been considerable gaps, perhaps as a result of the lack of co-ordination between the health and education sectors. This is now addressed in both Acts and priority is accorded in this regard under the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004. A strong attempt is being made to ensure a co-ordinated approach to the implementation of the provisions of both Acts.

Having dealt with the legislation in both Houses, the one point that struck me more than any other concerned the need for proper, quick and effective assessments of needs, on foot of which the various services, including speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy, could be put in place. This is clearly the main challenge for the Health Service Executive. We all accept these services cannot be put in place quickly enough. When put in place, they need to be successful. Parents, especially parents of young children with a disability, must be satisfied that they can obtain responses quickly and effectively. That is the thrust of the legislation.