Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Question 246: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the rationale for the 1% cut in disability funding in both 2008 and 2009, along with the withdrawal of €53 million and €17 million in 2007 and 2008 respectively from the multi-annual disability funding voted in Dáil Éireann; if she will restore these cuts to disability and mental health; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39214/08]

John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Almost €1 billion is provided each year to non-statutory providers of disability services. In line with the efficiency measures being taken elsewhere in the health system, an efficiency reduction of 1% will be applied by the HSE to the allocations of non-statutory disability agencies for 2009. It is envisaged that efficiencies will be achieved in non-frontline areas such as advertising, PR, travel and subsistence and management/administrative payroll costs.

The Office for Disability and Mental Health will be conducting a review in 2009 of non-statutory agencies which provide services for persons with disabilities, which will consider issues of structure, overheads, and coherence of and synergies within the sector with a view to assessing the scope for further efficiencies. This exercise will be undertaken with our focus at all times on the needs of those that we serve.

Under the Multi Annual Investment Programme additional funding of €75m was allocated in both 2006 and 2007. 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 due 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 to the House in July 2008.

As the issues raised by the Deputy are matters for the HSE under the Health Act 2004, I have requested the Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Executive to arrange to have this matter investigated and to have a reply issued directly to the Deputy.