Gabrielle McFadden (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and his officials. He is always willing to come to the House when he is invited. I will not repeat everything that has been said. It is fitting to have this debate and hear the contributions of Members, given that the International Day of Persons with Disabilities is this week.

The Minister of State referred to the NSID, which we all welcome. There is no question that we all want the best opportunities for people with disabilities. As Senator Bacik said, we welcome the fact that the Government ratified the UNCRPD. We spoke on it and supported it on numerous occasions, and I commend Senators John Dolan and Martin Conway on their contributions. I also welcome the €2 million the Minister of State mentioned for the autism plan. I do not know if it is enough and I would love to hear his opinion on that. Senator Reilly introduced a Private Members' Bill in the House dealing with autism. Is that included in the plan for the €2 million in 2020?

I commend the Government on having a Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities at the Cabinet table. It is very important. I commend the Minister of State on many measures but despite all the measures that I consider to be positive, I am concerned about one matter all the time, which I have mentioned to him previously. I do not like using the particular phrase but it has been quoted to me so I will use it. Services for people with disabilities are considered to be low hanging fruit, and when money has to be cut, it is cut from disability services. I am being parochial in referring to CHO 8, but it is my local CHO and it covers counties Laois, Offaly, Longford, Westmeath and part of Meath. Life plans are drawn up for people with disabilities, be they intellectual or physical disabilities, and people who need a personal assistant. The occupational therapist, psychologist or whomever draws up business plans and presents them to the HSE for funding so people can live in their homes and communities, where they want to live, and should live. These business plans take time to complete. People have to be assessed and it all costs money. The business plans are written and submitted to the HSE, but they are either unanswered or the answer is "No". There is something wrong. We must examine how these budgets are spent, and the Minister of State can do this.

I am dealing with a case involving a gentleman who has mild intellectual disability and a physical disability. He is starting to struggle and his family is struggling to look after him at home. He needs residential care. We do not want people in residential care and prefer to move them into the community, but there are situations where they need residential care. It should be in small settings that are suitable for them, not vast settings that are unsuitable. This gentleman needs that and I am aware of a service that likely could help with this. If there was a little jigging about with a budget, this service could provide a service for this gentleman and a couple of others. It requires an open mind about budgets and how they are divvied out.