Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all Senators for their constructive contributions. I have taken note of them and will take them on board. I look forward to coming back and working with Senators in the coming weeks and months, especially on the national disability strategy as we roll it out, to make sure we have a whole-of-government response.

We are absolutely committed to ensuring people with disabilities live full lives with the same rights; access to services, education, transport, culture and careers; and means to live independently that all other citizens enjoy. The many commitments made in the programme for Government highlight the step change in approach to disability services provision. I look further to working with Senators and to working on some of the ideas raised in the debate.

Since being appointed Minister of State with responsibility for disability, I have made it a priority to visit services. I will continue to do that. I want to see what works well and what does not work so well, to get the feedback and feed it up the line, and to sit down with advocacy groups and hear their views on how we move forward. It is only by listening and seeking to understand the lived experience of people with disabilities that we will truly understand what is happening on the ground, which will help us deliver the reforms we really need to improve services and deliver on our ambition.

I have regularly expressed my commitment to implementing changes that will have a real impact as well as helping to oversee reform in the sector. A demonstration of this commitment is the fact that I, as Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities, sit at the Cabinet table, where I join my colleague, the Minister, Norma Foley. This will ensure the voices of disabled people will be across every Government decision. We are both committed to delivering change in tandem with colleagues across Departments. The Cabinet committee on disability will be retained by this Government. Along with the new disability unit that will be established in the Department of the Taoiseach, this will form the basis of a whole-of-government step change in approach to service improvement and delivery. By putting disability at the centre of Government, we will expand and reform the services to maximise people's independence and support people with disabilities.

As has been outlined already, census 2022 told us 22% of the population, or approximately 1.1 million people, have a disability. Most are supported via mainstream health and social care services. The Department funds, via the HSE, specialist community-based disability services which are designed for the 60,000 people with a significant intellectual disability, autism or a complex physical disability. These services include multidisciplinary therapies for children or adults, adult day services, personal assistance, home support, respite and residential services. As I stated earlier, €3.2 billion has been allocated for HSE disability services in budget 2025. While the overall budget has increased by €1.2 billion since 2020, we appreciate much more is needed. We must invest more in services, personal assistance, home support hours and other supports for people to continue living independently in their own homes. Our capital spending must increase and, crucially, we must provide more therapists in order to improve access to services. The programme for Government commits to doubling the number of college places for speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dieticians, psychologists and social workers. An additional 150 places were provided last September as a first step in this process. These professionals are highly sought after nationally and internationally, with an array of career opportunities available to them. In July 2024, the Government approved the prioritisation of funding to support the expansion of training places in priority healthcare areas, including speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy. Increasing the number of graduate therapists year on year will be key to meeting the demands of the disability sector. We will engage with relevant Departments to support the work in 2025.

In addition, encouraging students to undertake placements in disability services is vital to increasing the disabilities workforce. This will expose more students to the challenging, impactful and rewarding nature of working in the disability sector. It will encourage them to take up full-time positions on graduation. The recruitment and retention of staff is a real challenge across the sector overall and is a significant priority for the Government, in particular filling vacancies in 93 CDNTs.

The Government will also facilitate the continuation of the assessment of need waiting list initiative, enabling the procurement of private assessment for families who have been waiting for a long time, with €10 million in funding allocated for 2025 to deliver 2,850 assessments of need and to allow for additional capacity in the assessment teams in the form of assessment and liaison officers.

It is worth noting again that one of the most important pieces of work underway is the development of the national disability strategy. The development of that strategy is at a very advanced stage, with publication expected in the coming months. The next national strategy will operate as a framework for the co-ordination of disability policy across Government, ensuring a whole-of-Government approach to the advancement of the UNCRPD and collaboration on crosscutting issues. Advocacy groups have been extensively involved in the development of that strategy and officials from a range of Departments and stakeholders, including disabled people's organisations, DPOs, met in the Department a few weeks ago to discuss the next steps.

In working across Government, including with colleagues in the Departments of the Taoiseach and Housing, Local Government and Heritage, to develop our commitments and the development of the strategy, the role of local authority decision-making has emerged as a consistent theme. Many issues raised by Senators today come back to local authorities, which will be a focus for me as Minister of State with responsibility for this area. As the Department leads on the finalisation phase of the development, it will therefore be critical that local government be involved in the development of monitoring and documenting these actions. While acknowledging the independence of local authorities as autonomous legal entities and, therefore, the challenges inherent in co-ordination across jurisdictions, the national disability strategy will examine opportunities to enhance co-ordination and showcase examples of best practice to advance the implementation of the UNCRPD at local level. Again, I would welcome any examples Senators have in their local areas and local authorities of what works really well. I want to see that replicated across the country.

We will progress the action plan for disabilities services. We have set ambitious targets in the plan to provide for unmet need and demographic change. This ambition is important to generate commitment to the vision we have for disability services in Ireland. While I highlighted the strong financial support of approximately €130 million in new development funding, which has led to service expansion, I fully appreciate that more is needed and I will work with colleagues during the Estimates process to try to secure funding for services we need.

At EU level, there are a number of positive initiatives in development, including the EU disability card. In one way, this will function as a European parking card, which will be very helpful for Irish people with disabilities who wish to park in disabled access spaces abroad and for tourists with disabilities who visit Ireland. I am proud that Ireland will hold the Presidency of the Council of the EU between July and December next year. Planning is ongoing with the disability division to identify areas of focus for the Presidency in the specific context of disability, aligning with Ireland's domestic priorities and the priorities contained in the EU Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030.

I have listened carefully to the contributions of Senators today. I will take them away for consideration. I am fully committed to listening to and engaging with Senators and taking advice from any quarter, whether from colleagues across Leinster House, advocacy groups, DPOs, families and individuals with lived experience or experts in the field. It is only by understanding that lived experience that I can make sure that we get the policy right. I thank Senators for inviting me here today and I look forward to working with them.