Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Boyhan for putting down this question. It gives me the opportunity to bring the Senator through my engagement since becoming Minister of State with responsibility for disability matters.

Before I continue, I wish to say this is not a blame game. I could not agree more with Senator Boyhan on that. This is about the service users, their families, the employees and delivering services to the most vulnerable in our society who require these services.

While St. John of God Community Services is in this particular situation regarding funding, we know the disability sector was underfunded for many years. We also know that we have a sustainability issue within the disability sector, where service providers provide a great deal of care. They are not unique in this regard. When we talk to the service providers or anyone within the HSE or the Department, that is exactly what we hear. It is the clear message coming out.

St. John of God Community Services currently provide services to over 2,400 children and adults with intellectual disabilities in community healthcare organisation areas 4,6, 7 and 8. They also provide mental health services and supports to over 5,600 children, adolescents and adults in CHO areas 6 and 7. The HSE has worked closely with the St. John of God organisation over several years to support it in its role and assist it in addressing the financial and governance challenges.

Against this background I held a meeting on 24 September 2020 with representatives of St. John of God which included Department of Health and HSE officials. I outlined my position and plans for the disability sector and encouraged St. John of God to engage with the HSE and address the issues facing the organisation. Nevertheless, following a board meeting of the organisation on the same day, St. John of God formally served the HSE with 12 months' notice of its intention to terminate the provision of services under its section 38 arrangement with the HSE, with a view to transferring responsibility for delivering disability and mental health services to the State by October 2021.

I am keenly aware that the decision of St. John of God may cause anxiety for many of the service users concerned and their families as well as the staff working in the organisation.However, I assure them that there are processes in place to ensure continuity of service provision, which are underpinned by service arrangements between the HSE and St. John of God. St. John of God will continue to be responsible for providing disability and mental health services over the next 12 months. During this period, the HSE will work with St. John of God to put in place suitable arrangements to transfer provision of these services to another appropriate organisation.

St. John of God is required to continue providing services from the effective date of termination or expiry of the 12-month notice period until such time as any new service arrangements become effective. If the 12-month notice period ends and the transfer of services has not yet been finalised, St. John of God is obliged to continue providing the services for up to another six months to allow the transfer to be completed. In effect, the whole process could take up to 18 months. I understand that the HSE also purchases some mental health services from St. John of God on a private basis, which are not governed by the section 38 service arrangement. The HSE is already making provision for community mental health services in Loughlinstown and Dún Laoghaire primary care centres.

The primary concern of this Government is to ensure the continuity of the vital services provided by St. John of God in the interests of service users, families and staff.