Michael Comiskey (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, to the House.

Mary Moran (Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State for taking this Adjournment debate. I have advocated for a long time that placements should be offered to school leavers who have intellectual disabilities in June of the year in which they leave school, so that their parents will know where they are going. Over umpteen years, I have spoken each September to parents who still do not know where their children will go. This can be detrimental to families because it prevents them from planning ahead. Some parents are worried that they will not be in a position to stay in employment if they do not have a suitable placement for their children. As I have been advocating on this issue since I became a Member of the Seanad, I was delighted to receive notification earlier this year that the HSE had put a target date of 30 June in place. I welcomed the proposal that by the time young people leave school on 30 June each year, they and their families will know exactly where they are going in September. I understood that a centralised system, implemented by the HSE, would be put in place to ensure a more streamlined approach to assigning placements is taken and that additional funding of €7 million had been allocated. I was really looking forward to 30 June coming around this year. I was hoping that any young person I know who is in the care of special services, or who will need special services when he or she leaves school, would be placed by then. Therefore, I was disappointed last week to speak with more parents who do not know where their children will be going even though we are in the second week of July. This is a huge time for these children. When a child leaves a mainstream school, he or she has a fairly good idea where he or she is going, or would like to go, in September. The amount of future planning involving other people that is required when somebody is leaving a mainstream school is not half the amount of planning that is involved in the case of someone with an intellectual disability.

I would like to refer to the case of a young lady who has reached school leaver age and has left school. Her parents, whom I know personally, have toured this country to look for a suitable place for their daughter, who has very significant individualised needs. Nobody knows a child better than his or her mother. This child's mother went around the country to search for a suitable facility and eventually found one not too far from her home. She decided she would like her daughter to be placed in this facility and submitted an application to that effect. She notified me of the outcome last week.

I am getting two different stories or scenarios. I am not sure what is happening. I am asking for this child to be placed in the facility where her mother would like her to be placed. The mother has written to me to say the place she has checked out has the ultimate in specialised care provision. It is where she wants her daughter to go. The young woman in question has a friend, with whom she has grown up since the age of five, who will be going to the same place. It is important for people to be able to send their children to mainstream schools with their friends. This lady would like to think her child will have the company of her friend who lives across the border in the next county. They want to continue to have that arrangement in place. I have contacted both places, but I am not sure what the answer or the exact situation is. It seems to be going around the world for sport. Meanwhile, a young woman and her family are suffering as they wait to see where she will be able to go. I ask the Minister of State to look into this matter. We need to follow through on our promise that all children would know where they were going by 30 June. We are now into the middle of July. If we could get a definite statement on where this young woman will be able to go, I would appreciate it.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I thank Senator Moran for raising this issue. I know of her strong commitment in this area. I am responding to her on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch. I am pleased to outline the position on placements for school leavers who need continuing supports from the health sector. While the Government does not comment on individual cases, I wish to assure the Senator that our policy is to enable young people with disabilities to live independent lives to the greatest extent possible and to receive the supports they need to achieve this. Many young people with disabilities will progress to mainstream education, training or employment, but some will need continuing support from the HSE. Day services for adults with disabilities provide a network of support for over 25,000 people who have a wide spectrum of support needs due to intellectual, physical and sensory disabilities, autism and mental health problems. Every year, the HSE, through its occupational guidance service, works with schools, service providers, service users and families to identify the needs of young people with disabilities who are due to complete their second-level education and will require varying levels of continuing support. This year, at the request of the Minister for Health, an additional €7 million in funding and 35 posts were allocated by the HSE to meet the needs of school leavers with disabilities.

Over 900 school leavers applied. Even with the extra funding, the provision of this level of new service has been challenging for all concerned. To meet the challenge, the Health Service Executive, HSE, has implemented a new centralised application process and national operational approach to school leaver placements.

An important aspect of the new approach has been the establishment of a national oversight group representing disability sector umbrella organisations, service users and senior HSE staff. With stakeholder support, the HSE has worked to identify the service providers with capacity to respond to assessed need and agree the allocation of additional resources where required. This process has been completed. The HSE has assured the Minister that, in all but a very small number of cases, school leavers and their families have now been notified of the placement which will be available to them in September. This is a significant achievement by all concerned and a great improvement on the position in recent years.

In the remaining cases, the HSE, service providers and families are still in discussions regarding the most suitable placement for the school leaver. Strenuous efforts are being made to reach a satisfactory resolution for each young person concerned as soon as possible. In respect of the young woman referred to by the Senator, the HSE has assured the Minister for Health that a suitable placement will be provided for her in September and that it is working with the local service provider to assess how her needs may be best accommodated. Discussions are ongoing and a meeting will be held with the young woman's family in the coming days. I assume the information with regard to the specific place the young woman in question and her family would like has been given to the relevant authorities.

Mary Moran (Labour)
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I know there has been an improvement in this process. However, it does not matter how good the improvement is if one’s child is affected by not securing the placement, particularly when other children with similar needs from the same area have come through the same small school and have got a placement. I am not sure why there is a problem with the placement in this case. If this matter is not settled soon, I will be knocking on the door of the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch. I would be grateful if the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O’Sullivan, would convey my concerns to her.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I will convey them to the Minister.