Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Conway-Walsh for raising this important matter, which I am taking on behalf of my colleague, the Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities, Deputy Finian McGrath.

This is a time of major change in the delivery of social care in this country, and the HSE has embarked on a transformation programme, Transforming Lives, which aims to put the citizen at the heart of everything we do. One of the central aims of this programme is to strive to ensure that every one of our citizens has an effective right, free from discrimination, to contribute to the economic, social and cultural life of our country and, in doing so, to achieve the best outcomes possible for themselves and their families. The Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, has been very encouraged in recent years to see the number of organisations nationwide that are immersing themselves wholeheartedly in the transformation programme.

Traditional adult day services have, for the most part, been organised as segregated services, separate from local communities and offering limited options, experiences and choices. New Directions is one of the key policy documents contained in the HSE's Transforming Lives programme. It sets out an approach to day services that envisages all the supports available in communities that will be mobilised in order that people with disabilities have the widest choice and options as to how to live their lives and spend their time. New Directions sets out 12 supports that should be available to people with disabilities using day services. It proposes that day services should take the form of individualised outcome-focused supports to allow adults using those services to live lives of their choosing and in accordance with their own wishes, needs and aspirations. New Directions highlights three underlying principles which should underpin services - namely, person-centredness, community inclusion and active citizenship - in order to provide the best outcomes for individuals with a disability.

Áras Attracta day services are transitioning in line with New Directions policy. The HSE currently provides day services on site at Áras Attracta. However, this is not in keeping with the requirements of New Directions policy because it is located within a congregated setting. Day services at Áras Attracta will close at the end of 2018 and a service provider called Praxis has been appointed to provide the new day service under the New Directions policy from January 2019, based in Ballina. Provision has been made to accommodate all current service users attending Áras Attracta day services in this new day service or, if more appropriate to their needs, to another service model. Staff will be reassigned to other areas of service within Áras Attracta or Mayo Community Living.