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

I thank the Senator profusely for raising this issue on the floor of the Seanad. I wondered how long it would be before someone would submit a priority or oral question or raise it on the floor, so I am delighted to be here before the Senators to answer this question. I will give some background and this is important because it ensures I can return to the Department. We will, therefore, set out the background context first.

As Minister of State with special responsibility for disabilities, I believe it is important for me to be clear in saying that the development of any child with a disability to reach his or her full potential remains a priority for me. This Government and the HSE are committed to further developing and enhancing children’s disability services across the State. The children’s disability services grant fund was a new funding initiative open to organisations, including community groups and service providers, with the aim of supporting children on a waiting list for children’s disability network team, CDNT, services and adding value to existing HSE children's disability services. Additionally, as the Senator put it, this was about recognising that a lot of work goes on out there that might not have a service level agreement, SLA, in place or grant funding for but that does do a powerful lot of good for families in communities where parents cannot afford the €100 a week for therapy interventions. It is important to place this situation in that context.

There is an appetite among service providers across the country to support our children and, as a result, the grant fund saw a huge response from voluntary groups, community groups and private agencies. The HSE received more than 500 applications for the grant fund, ranging from proposals for several thousand euro to larger projects seeking millions of euro. The total funding sought was almost €45 million and there was a very high number of applications. In fact, there were 500 applicants.

The Senator also asked how the applications were assessed. A children’s disability services grant scheme evaluation panel was formed by the HSE to assess all applications based on the following criteria: the quality and coherence of the proposal; the contribution to the well-being of children and families; the potential lasting impact; the capacity and sustainability of providers to deliver person-centred services and comply with standards; and value for money. The primary objective of the panel was to set up a framework of service providers from which children’s disability network managers would draw down supports for waitlisted children awaiting services from their CDNTs. Satisfying this objective was the primary consideration of the evaluators. The evaluation panel also outlined that the initiative was also primarily for children awaiting services rather than ones already in receipt of them and that services would not have additional fees that families would have to pay.

The evaluation panel was pleased to see the diverse and innovative services and supports that local and national groups are providing for children with disabilities and was impressed with the range of opportunities they give for children with disabilities to participate in social and community life. The very high number of applications meant there was strong competition for finite funds and a shortlist had to be drawn up. I am sure that one of the questions the Senator asked me was where these funds were coming from. It was from time-related savings from staff I had not recruited. The CEO of the HSE was adamant that this funding would be used in this regard. It came from staff- and time-related savings that had not been used to populate the teams.

The projects were not shortlisted based on a number of factors, including: not being open to children on a CDNT waiting list; a requirement for parents to pay a fee for services; value for money; and a lack of governance.In total, 52 of the 500 projects submitted were selected by the HSE. I am grateful to see the enthusiasm, but I am also conscious that it tells us what the State needs in order to be able to support the existing services. The State needs €45 million to support the community and voluntary actors. However, it is also important to recognise that our voluntary groups are volunteers and they are competing with groups that have a background staff of people who are paid to fill out applications.