Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State is very welcome, as always. I am raising this Commencement matter on behalf of Fatima Groups United, which operates in the F2 Centre in Dublin 8. It has the most magnificent facility as part of the whole redevelopment of Fatima. In it, every room is chock-a-block with services to the community. It really lives up to what it does. The group ran a pilot programme for 32 children aged four to 18 that was very successful. It was for families in the Dublin 8 and 12 areas, principally families who were on a waiting list for the CDNT. The referral came from the CDNT, Tusla or local schools. The group ran a children's activity club where families could access a range of programmes. It was to do with socialising and giving supports to children who were waiting on treatment services, and they were really the group's public.

This is an area that experiences a high level of social deprivation and the group finds itself filling a gap because parents in these areas cannot afford any private services, so they are really reliant on this. The programme was run in a previous iteration of the strengthening disability services fund. The group made the application based on the pilot and on the outcomes. Parents said things such as:

Being here has saved me. My anxiety ... [went] through the roof. I am more relaxed, I understand him more and see his needs. I got so much information to help me cope. We do more things now because we aren't judged as much and because I know what works for him so I now know not to go to busy places and do things at pace. Our homelife is ... much better. We aren't as isolated anymore, my nerves aren't as bad.

This was an holistic approach of caring for both children with autism who are neurodiverse and their parents, and assisting that exchange between parent and child, along with other children in these activity clubs.

The group made an application and submitted it on 10 November in accordance with the deadlines for the strengthening disability services fund. The group was notified on 27 November that successful programmes would be advised. In February, the group sought an update because the pilot programme money was running out in June.The group was told there was a large number of applicants and that it would hear back. It was the same in April when I got on board and started to seek moneys for the group. On 23 April, I got a letter from the HSE telling me there had been a reference from the Department to the HSE and that was where I should write for an update. I am there all the way on that. In June, finally, a further letter was received. The group followed up the email, as did I, only to receive word back that the application had been refused.

Here we have 32 children relying on this service, with a plan to increase the number to 60, and now we have a situation where it cannot go ahead because of the piecemeal funding. The group ran an extremely successful pilot of exactly the type of programme needed to empower parents and support children, and it was done in a holistic manner for the whole family in an area of social deprivation. In every way, therefore, the initiative hits all the things the Minister of State speaks passionately about here. It is an ideal programme of support yet it cannot continue now because the funding has been refused. What are the criteria in this regard and how and why did this group not succeed with its application?

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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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.

Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State made a good point.

I do a legal support clinic at the F2 Centre every fortnight and I am always amazed by the sheer use of it by the local community and the creativity of the support. People identify needs in the local community and then they do their best to professionally meet those needs. A professional was recruited there previously and paid a salary to provide a service to parents. It was a professional intervention. From a qualitative analysis, this programme would have stood up to any assessment. Naturally the group is disappointed.

The Minister of State mentioned that 52 of 500 projects were selected. There are many more in the 500. Bar the Minister of State going to negotiate for them in the budget, clearly we will have a massive need. I am at a bit of a loss as to where they go now, because there is nowhere for them to go and that worries me.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I am not at a loss as to where we go next.

Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael)
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Good.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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There is an opportunity here. The HSE has a list of 438 fantastic projects that need support. They are predominantly from the community and voluntary sector. Those groups are plugging the gaps and where we have pilots, they should become part and parcel of the support mechanism for the CDNTs. They should be embedded in our communities. That would also give us the opportunity to grow and enhance the universal support we talk about all the time in respect of the progressing disability services, PDS, for children and young people programme.

Where do we go? We go back to the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform as it needs to sanction the funding. At the end of last year, the Department with responsibility for disability had run over budget and with the best will of the CEO there was only so much funding left in the pot at the end of year. He was not allowed to use what was unspent or the time-related savings because there was a deficit. There is a need for emergency funding to be granted to meet the shortfall needed by these community groups that are so valuable. That would enhance the camps we are talking about. I am pushing and pulling every lever and I have no doubt that with the Senator's support and that of the Minister, Deputy O'Donohoe, we could pull more levers.