Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I thank Senator Corrigan for raising this issue. I am responding in the unavoidable absence of my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney. At the outset, I emphasise the Government's commitment to providing a high quality service to all people with a disability. This commitment is illustrated by the substantial investment we have made in disability services in recent years.

The national disability strategy, launched in September 2004, reinforces the equal participation in society of people with disabilities and provides for a framework of new supports for such persons. This programme, together with the enhancement of other key support services, is a key factor in building the additional capacity required to ensure services best meet identified needs. The strategy builds on a strong equality framework which is reflected in a range of equality legislation. It puts the policy of mainstreaming of public services for people with disabilities on a clear legal footing.

The main elements of the strategy are the Disability Act 2005; the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004; the sectoral plans published in 2006 by six Departments; the Citizens Information Act 2007; and the multi-annual investment programme for disability support services for the period 2006-2009. In launching the national disability strategy, the Taoiseach also announced the Government's commitment to a multi-annual investment package for disability-specific services over a five-year period. Since the launch of the strategy in 2004 until the end of 2007, €420 million in revenue and capital funding has been allocated to services for people with disabilities.

As the Senator is aware, €50 million was allocated in budget 2008 by the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, for the provision of disability services. The Health Service Executive proposes to allocate this €50 million under several headings. In regard to services for persons with intellectual disability and those with autism, by the end of 2008, 200 additional residential places will bring the total number of places to 8,462; 467 additional day care places will be provided, bringing the total number of places to 25,196; and 53 additional respite places will bring the total number of places to 4,533.

In respect of services for persons with physical or sensory disabilities, by the end of 2008, 80 additional residential places will bring the total number of places to 914 and 200,000 additional hours of personal assistance or home support will bring the total number of hours provided to 3,200,000. In addition, 140 multidisciplinary team posts are being allocated to disability services to provide assessment and ongoing intervention services to children, as provided for in the Disability Act, with a particular focus on children under five years of age. By the end of the current multi-annual investment package in 2009, it is expected that 1,235 new residential places, 398 new respite places and 467 new day care places will have been commissioned for intellectual disability services, in addition to 380 new residential places and 1,150,000 extra personal assistance or home support hours for people with physical and sensory disabilities.

It is important to ensure that all residential facilities for people with a disability are independently monitored and inspected by the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, as provided for in the Health Act 2007. The HIQA has been assigned important powers to examine the nature and quality of services and to determine whether they are of the standard to which people with a disability are entitled as a right. The authority has commenced work on standards for designated residential centres for people with a disability and these will form the basis for statutory regulations and inspections. The HIQA is keen to get these standards right and is inspecting all residential services against an appropriate benchmark. I understand it is the authority's aim to finalise formal standards in 2008 and to commence formal inspections in 2009.

Service level agreements are currently being finalised. The HSE and the Department of Health and Children are in discussion on the provision of these agreements. Among their provisions will be a requirement on service providers to establish and maintain a formal policy and complaints procedure in regard to protection from abuse that is accessible to all service users, their advocates and carers.

I thank Senator Corrigan for raising this issue, as she has done on several occasions in this House. I will be glad to convey the points she raised to the Minister, Deputy Harney, and to the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Devins, who has responsibility in this area.