Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Question 23: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if she will honour the commitment to make a minimum amount of €50 million available to put in place services and support to vulnerable people who are on waiting lists in view of the fact that 2009 is the final year of the multi-annual investment programme under the National Disability Strategy. [35188/08]

John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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In relation to health services for people with a disability, I would like to take this opportunity to highlight the significant resources which have been expended on disability services in 2008. The Multi-Annual Investment Programme for Disability Services makes provision for the development of additional residential, respite places and day care places for people with intellectual disability and Autism and additional residential care and home support services for people with physical and sensory disabilities.

In the 2008 Budget, €50m was provided to the Health Service Executive (HSE) to fund a range of additional services under the Multi-Annual Investment Programme for Disability. Although the commencement of the planned developments in disability services this year had been delayed to a financial review, I am pleased to inform you that the Executive has informed the Department of Health and Children that it is now in the process of rolling out the planned developments. The HSE has indicated that due to the delayed start to some of these developments, it expects to spend €33m of the €50m by the end of 2008. The resulting €17m time related savings were included in this Department's budgetary consolidation measures announced in the House in July 2008.

In light of the current financial circumstances, it has been necessary to defer the implementation of the 2009 element of the Multi-Annual Investment Programme. Priority is being given in 2009 to therapy services for children with special needs, with €10m in additional funding being made available to provide 125 additional posts, including speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and clinical psychologists.