Ulick Burke (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 179: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if she will take responsibility in the area of special needs education particularly in the area of speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and the other needed ancillary support services required in this area in view of the fact that many parents find that these services, which are crucial at an early age, are either not available or being delivered on an [i]ad hoc[/i] basis; and if she will report on the co-ordination of these services between her Department and other Departments. [26391/08]

John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The new Office for Disability and Mental Health spans four Government Departments and brings together responsibility for a range of different policy areas and State services which directly impact on the lives of people with a disability and people with mental health difficulties. The Office aims to bring about improvements in the manner in which services respond to the needs of people with disabilities and mental health difficulties, by continuing to develop person-centred services, focussing on the holistic needs of clients and service users and actively involving them in their own care.

Very substantial progress has been made in recent years in the areas of disability and mental health, but much remains to be done. In particular, there is a need to improve co-ordination and communication across different Government Departments and agencies in their delivery of services to this client group. This will be the main focus for the new Office. A key priority for the Office is to facilitate the delivery of integrated health and education support services for children with special needs, by further developing existing mechanisms for co-operation and co-ordination between the health and education sectors, both at national and local level.

It is recognised that intervention early in life can have a significant impact on the disabling effects of a condition or impairment. In recognition of this, Part 2 of the Disability Act 2005 was commenced for children aged under 5 years with effect from 1 June 2007. This provides parents of young children with disabilities with an entitlement to an independent assessment of their child's health and educational needs and a statement of the services which it is proposed to provide for them. In the first year of operation, almost 2,300 applications for an assessment of need were received and continue to be processed by the HSE.

Representatives from the Office for Disability and Mental Health, the Department of Health and Children, the Department of Education and Science, the Health Service Executive and the National Council for Special Education meet on a regular basis to address a range of issues including matters arising in relation to the ongoing implementation of the Disability Act 2005. This work includes planning for the further commencement of Part 2 of the Disability Act 2005 in conjunction with the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004, to children aged between 5 and 18 years and to adults. Issues in relation to the timely and appropriate provision of health and education supports to children with a range of disabilities are being considered in the context of these discussions. Health related supports for children aged 5 to 18 and for adults will continue to be enhanced, as resources permit, to enable the Health Service Executive to meet needs identified for these groups.

The Deputy's question regarding the availability of services relates to the management and delivery of health and personal services, which are the responsibility of the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004. Accordingly, my Department has requested the Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Executive to arrange to have this case investigated and to have a reply issued directly to the Deputy.