Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State from the west, Deputy Rabbitte. I wish to pay tribute to what has been done. Many people in the primary healthcare service have been working non-stop on the front line on Covid as well. In community healthcare organisation 2, CHO 2, covering Galway, Mayo and Roscommon, which the Minister of State knows well, one sees amazing work being done by Ability West and the Brothers of Charity in this area. I am pleased that all stakeholders, including Inclusion Ireland, were brought together in the framework for the resumption of day services. I pay tribute to the Minister of State for achieving extra funding for the extra day in-services, as well as the extra €100 million for disability.

There was a huge impact on families and carers, who are on the point of exhaustion, when the day services closed. There is no access to respite care, so it is great to see that this will happen. It was a relief to see so many of them opened in the third and fourth week of August. I appreciate the document that was uploaded onto the website with that detail. Almost 19,000 people with disabilities access these services across 1,000 buildings and premises. The Minister of State mentioned the importance of attendance at gyms and swimming pools. In the west we fought to ensure there is funding available to keep swimming pools open in both Tuam and Ballinasloe. We know the importance of physical therapy for people with disabilities. Swimming is for all ages and all abilities. Cross-departmental support is crucial in delivering what is needed for people with disabilities, such as working, perhaps, with the Department with responsibility for local government to ensure these amenities will not be lost in regional areas. Regional areas are crucial.

I have been speaking to providers locally and they are happy to see the funding for temporary posts. However, I was asked questions about funds to modify buildings to comply with public health guidelines. This involves many different types of buildings, being able to bring people in and the spacing between them. There is also the issue of funds for transport. More than 8,000 people use transport to get to many of the disability service providers. CLÁR is examining this as well, but what other funding has been allowed for transport?

The report from Inclusion Ireland of last June was mentioned by the Minister of State and Senator Ruane. It referred to 55 people with intellectual disability and discusses how people would be able to use technology if services or equipment were available. That was 80% of the 55 surveyed. Obviously, it is a challenge for those who are non-verbal, but we will be delivering services in a different way. Again, loneliness, anxiety and exhaustion came across, as well as access to therapy support, such as speech and language and occupational therapy. I have some questions for the Minister of State. What is the current allocation of staff in CHOs to Covid testing and tracing? Second, there is the timeline for the personal plans that are put in place for each of the users. It is a person-centred plan and includes what is required medically. What is the timeline for when that might be delivered? What funding is available for transport? If that information is not available, the Department might be able to provide it.

There is increased funding for home supports. It is wonderful to see the extra 5 million hours for home care, and to see a little increase in the disability allowance. However, we might need to look at that again because more families at home are trying to provide support to users. I was impressed by the total budget of €2.22 billion, which is definitely unprecedented. Regarding the background from Health Innovation Hub Ireland, I am anxious to see how this technology is being used. How are we linking in with eHealth Ireland here? Given the backlog in services such as occupational therapy and speech and language, how will we ensure that people get access? We need to be able to use technology, along with funding, to deliver these services, particularly Telehealth, Telecare, eHealth and Digital Health. I am not speaking so much about intellectual disability as people with physical disabilities.

It is important to be able to access initiatives in the CHOs. It is about bringing the health service into the 21st century. I have worked in the CHO and in Saolta, and I have worked with people working in these areas. I know how difficult it is, but we must ensure the technology is available to support the healthcare professionals to deliver this, particularly assistive technologies. Senator McGreehan referred to windows, doors, remote controls and so forth. It is very important to let people be able to live independently at home, especially now when they are not able to access day services. Are we investing in technologies such as screen reading for vision impairment, voice output communications and wearable technology, particularly with medication reminders? There are phenomenal companies and this technology exists. How do we work with Enable Ireland and the Disability Federation of Ireland to try to bring this across?

I will conclude, and I thank the Minister of State. My comments are really about how we use technology to support people.