Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Question 66: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if she will ring-fence funding for the implementation of the Health Information and Quality Authority National Quality Standards for Residential Services for People with Disabilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26385/09]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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Question 119: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if she will ring-fence funding for the implementation of the Health Information and Quality Authority, National Quality Standards on Residential Services for People with Disabilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26721/09]

John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 66 and 119 together.

A Standards Advisory Group was established by HIQA to develop National Quality Standards on Residential Services for People with Disabilities. The group comprised officials of HIQA, my Department, the HSE, service providers, organisations representing people with disabilities and service users, and met on a number of occasions during 2008. Following a public consultation process initiated by HIQA, the proposed standards were formulated and have now been published.

These standards will provide a national framework for quality, safe services for people with disabilities in a residential setting and relate only to adult services at present.

Given the current economic situation, to move to full statutory implementation of the standards, including regulation and inspection, presents significant challenges at this time. However, notwithstanding the difficulties of immediate statutory implementation, my Department, the HSE and HIQA have agreed that progressive implementation of the Standards will now commence, and that they will become the benchmark against which the HSE assesses both its own directly operated facilities and other facilities that the HSE funds. Further discussions will take place regarding the introduction of an appropriate level of external validation for relevant settings.