Written answers

Tuesday, 13 December 2011

Department of Health

Services for People with Disabilities

10:00 pm

Photo of Billy KelleherBilly Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 495: To ask the Minister for Health the level of cuts to be provided to service providers of persons with disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39925/11]

Photo of Kathleen LynchKathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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I am acutely aware of the challenges facing the disability services as a result of reduced resources in 2012. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform announced that an efficiency saving of 2% is being applied to the budget for disability services in 2012. Services will also have to make provision for savings in employment and procurement costs which are required of the health services as a whole next year. The precise levels of savings required will vary depending on the profile of individual service providers and will be determined within the context of the HSE's service planning process. Services will also have to meet anticipated extra demand from within their budgets in 2012.

Value for Money & Policy Review of Disability Services

A major priority for the Government in the coming months will be to finalise the current Value for Money and Policy Review of Disability Services to ensure that existing funding for people with disabilities is spent to best effect. It is now more important than ever that large scale spending programmes of this nature are subject to detailed periodic review. The VFM Efficiency and Effectiveness Review will make recommendations that will ensure that the very substantial funding of €1.5 billion provided to the specialist disability health sector is used to maximum benefit for persons with disability, having regard to overall resource constraints which affect all sectors at this time.

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