David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 136: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the action she will take to raise awareness and understanding of advocacy among people with disabilities and service providers, in particular the new personal advocacy service which is due to be operational in 2008; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18693/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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A key function of the Personal Advocacy Service will be to develop awareness and understanding of advocacy amongst people with disabilities and service providers. This will be done through a range of measures including engaging directly with disability representative groups, service providers and other voluntary and statutory organisations who deal with people with disabilities. The Personal Advocacy Service will also promote its services through professionals such as General Practitioners, Public Health nurses and residential care workers.

In addition, family members and the general public will be targeted through general promotions and through the network of Citizen Information Services, which operate at over 250 locations nationwide. The Citizen Information Services also provide advocacy services, within the mainstream context, to members of the public who require additional support to access their rights and entitlements.

A considerable amount of work has already been done to generate awareness at local level and within the disability sector by the 47 projects funded under the Citizens Information Board's Community and Voluntary Sector Advocacy programme. The Personal Advocacy Service will be working in close collaboration with these projects to maximise the resources of both programmes and ensure people with disabilities have access to advocacy services at the most appropriate level to meet their needs.

In addition, my Department has an established Disability Consultative Forum which comprises disability groups, service providers and other voluntary and statutory organisations. It meets regularly to discuss issues relevant to people with disabilities. The Forum is an important means of communications to our customers with disabilities on their rights and entitlements, to brief them on developments, listen to their concerns and raise awareness on matters relevant to them, such as the establishment of the Personal Advocacy Service.