Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of my colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Health with responsibility for disability, equality, mental health and older people, Ms Kathleen Lynch, I welcome this opportunity to put on the record of the House the Government's commitment to the provision of effective and responsive public services for people with disabilities and to strongly re-affirm the Government's commitment to the national disability strategy.

The Minister of State has expressed to this House her strongly felt view that people with disabilities are not ill and do not require to be fixed. What people need is for us to break down the barriers which society puts in the way of them living a full life that is worth living. They also need the supports necessary for them to live a fully inclusive life. This is the aim of the national disability strategy, which was launched in September 2004 and which continues to be the focus of Government policy for the sector. The programme for Government contained a commitment to publication of the first ever implementation plan for the strategy and to the achievement of even greater levels of progress in progressing the strategy over the next three years. With this in mind, the Minister established and is personally chairing the national disability strategy implementation group, which was tasked with developing and monitoring the implementation plan. I am happy to report that the plan was approved by the Government and published in July of this year.

The aim of the implementation plan is to engage with the disability sector and build on the traditional problem solving and constructive approach of the community and voluntary sector. Acknowledging the current economic climate and diminished resources available across government - in the spirit of Seanad harmony I will not refer to the fact that the previous Government signed up to the troika agreement - this implementation plan seeks to ensure available resources are used to best effect in ensuring people with disabilities have more choice and control in their lives and in achieving their aspirations for the future. This aim is also fundamental to the value for money and policy review of the health funded disability services which the Minister of State published last year. The value for money review will be pivotal in progressing and supporting the implementation of significant elements of the national disability strategy. The review also echoes the health care reforms signalled in Future Health, the Government's blueprint for the restructuring of the health services over the coming years.

Collaboration is key to progressing the national disability strategy and the value for money review. The Minister of State is a passionate exponent of the motto "Nothing about us, without us" and is committed to working with people with disabilities and to opening channels of communication wherever she can. To this end, she set up a disability forum under the stewardship of the National Disability Authority. The first meeting of the forum was held in June last year and the views expressed at it provided an input into the development of the national disability strategy implementation plan.

This is a time of major change in the delivery of social care in this country and we have embarked on a transformation programme that will put the citizen at the heart of everything we do. This change can best be illustrated by the disability services provided by the health sector, in which regard we are at the start of a journey to migrate from a segregated, group delivered service to a person-centred and individually chosen supports model. The implementation of this new model requires a more effective, transparent and accountable use of the €1.5 billion in funding which the Government is providing to the HSE this year for its national service plan. Within the funding provided, the Minister for Health has emphasised to the HSE that it must maximise the provision of services within available resources and maintain a consistent level of service compared to that provided in 2012. Both the HSE and the voluntary disability service providers have introduced significant efficiencies over recent years to remain within budget and the HSE has advised that these changes have not resulted in service contraction.

Despite the difficult economic conditions in which we find ourselves, there can be no compromise on the quality and safety of the services we deliver. Earlier this year, the Minister of State launched a set of standards for residential services and she hopes to be in a position to announce shortly that the regulations to allow the scheme of registration and inspection to commence on 1 October have been signed. The regulations, which will be enforced by the Health Information and Quality Authority, seek to ensure that the unique and complex needs of each child and adult with a disability in a residential service are met in an appropriate and effective manner by service providers and their staff. This is a positive development for both service users and service providers. We believe that it will set the bar for quality care in the years ahead.

The way in which we support people with disabilities to live normal lives is undergoing a seismic change. The process of moving away from congregated settings towards a community-based model of residential services has been happening gradually for a number of years and is now gathering momentum. At this point I would like to highlight the co-operation between myself and the Minister of State, and between our respective Departments, in regard to housing issues. My Department, together with the Department of Health, has developed a housing strategy for people with disabilities and an implementation framework for that strategy which aims to support people with disabilities to live in their communities and to have maximum independence and choice. Collaboration on the housing strategy is an excellent example of the cross-sectoral working and whole-of-government approach which is a central theme of the national disability strategy. I have had a number of meetings with the Minister of State on this topic and from my perspective as Minister of State with responsibility for housing, I have highlighted the importance of addressing the needs of people with disabilities. The funding I administered recently was allocated to local authorities solely for the purpose of housing people with disabilities.

I will now turn to the subject of education. This Government has passionately defended the provision for special educational spending since coming into office. Some €1.3 billion, or 15% of the entire education budget, will be spent in support of children with special educational needs this year. This provision is in line with expenditure in recent years and shows that despite the current economic difficulties, funding for special education has not been cut. This year we will again provide funding for 10,575 special needs assistant posts. There has been no reduction to the overall number of SNA posts available for allocation to schools. In June 2013 the Minister for Education and Skills authorised the National Council for Special Education to maintain the level of resource teachers at the 2012 levels. There will not be a reduction in resource teaching time compared with last year.

Education does not end with childhood, however, and people with disabilities are one of the target groups for the back to education initiative, which provides part-time further education programmes for adults.

They may also avail of adult literacy and community education courses provided by the education and training boards throughout the country.

The fund for students with disabilities allocates funding to PLC colleges for the provision of services and supports to full-time students with disabilities. The fund aims to ensure students can participate fully in their programmes. The disability access route to education scheme also provides a third level admissions scheme for school leavers who have a disability or specific learning difficulty.

FÁS mainstream programmes are open to all unemployed individuals, including those with a disability. In addition, this year FÁS will provide up to 3,000 places, through specialised training providers, for people with disabilities. The Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Social Protection also support learners attending courses through the provision of payments, allowances and maintenance grants.

Every year young people finish their formal education and progress to the next stage of their lives. For most children, including those with disabilities, the aim is that they progress directly to further education, vocational training or employment and I have described the resources provided by the Department of Education and Skills to facilitate this. However, for more than 800 young people who have higher support needs, the requirement is for lifeskills training or day supports provided by the HSE. After following an appropriate lifeskills training programme many of this cohort will also progress in time to mainstream training and employment, with personal social supports provided by the HSE where needed.

The HSE national service plan includes an additional €4 million to provide training places and day services for young people who will finish their formal education this year. However, the provision of services to an additional 800 young people is challenging even with the additional funding, and some may have to wait longer than others until a fully suitable placement or support service is available. I know this is of concern to Senators.

Training is only part of the journey people with special needs must face to obtain longer-term sustainable employment. In the area of disability activation, the Government is committed to supporting people to participate more fully in training and employment through activation measures, income supports and work-related supports. The integration of the employment services and community services divisions of FÁS into the Department of Social Protection is enhancing the delivery of employment services for all people, including people with disabilities, and will assist in overcoming barriers in this area. The Department has also launched a disability activation project, with funding of more than €7 million, which aims to identify the optimum approaches to mainstreaming labour market activation measures for people with disabilities. This may be of interest to Senator Keane who has raised specific issues with regard to the 3% target, activation for people with disabilities and job opportunities.

This brings me to the issue raised by Senators with regard to the processing of claims. I assure Members of the Seanad the prompt processing of claims remains a priority for the Minister for Social Protection. I am pleased to report the backlog in processing carer's allowance applications has been eliminated. All backlogged disability allowance applications have been decided where possible, with the remainder awaiting additional information necessary to decide the claim, and the Minister for Social Protection has allocated additional staff to assist with this work.

The contribution people provide in caring for members of their own family is critical for society. It was for this reason the Government last year adopted the national carers' strategy with a view to giving greater public recognition to carers and their work. Carers receive significant income supports from the Department of Social Protection so people can continue living at home as long as possible. The supports available to carers in Ireland are among the highest rates of income support in Europe, and are expected to total €776 million this year compared with an estimated outturn of €771 million in 2012.

The issue of Irish sign language was raised by a number of Senators. I am aware of the issue and when I first entered the Dáil in 1998 I was spokesperson on equality and I met Dr. John Bosco Conama and others from the Irish sign language support group. As Senator Daly acknowledged, nothing has been done so far but we are all aware it is an important issue. I note Senator Conway stated he would table a motion on the issue.

I welcome the opportunity provided by the debate to put on the record the Government's position on services for people with disabilities. There is an onus on us all to use the substantial resources committed to disability services throughout the public sector more effectively, but also to achieve better outcomes for this funding and to bring about a real and substantial improvement in the lives of people with disabilities. This is a central tenet of the national disability strategy and a high priority for the Minister of State, Deputy Lynch, and the Government.