Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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Question 131: To ask the Minister for Health the reason the Health Service Executive has cut the starting rate for personal assistants coming into the service and reduced payment for Sundays from double time to time and a half in 2011; and if personal assistant services will be cut in 2012. [14734/12]

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 136: To ask the Minister for Health his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding the Health Service Executive National Service Plan 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14753/12]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 142: To ask the Minister for Health the reason personal assistance funding has been cut by 3.7% when it is a front-line service and the Health Service Executive 2012 Service Plan details a 3.7% reduction in funding for disability services that is primarily to be achieved through a rationalisation of back-office costs and other non-front-line services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14780/12]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 131, 136 and 142 together.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) National Service Plan for 2012 provides for a reduction of 3.7% in funding to specialist disability services. However, the Service Plan states that at least 2% of this should not impact on services and needs to be generated from other savings and increased efficiencies.

As part of the ongoing work of the HSE's National Consultative Forum on disability services, the HSE in conjunction with representative organisations, service providers and service users, has begun a process to identify and agree a framework for identifying and implementing cost efficiencies. The goal is to minimise the impact on services. is work will be progressed through the National Consultative Forum. In the interim, and in tandem with the work of the Forum and local discussions with individual agencies, agencies have had 3.7% reduced from their budget. Some reductions in services will be unavoidable even with such efficiencies and will arise in day services, residential and respite services.

The HSE provides a range of assisted living services, including Personal Assistant services, to support individuals to maximise their capacity to live full and independent lives. In 2011, a total of 1.68 million personal assistant / home support hours were provided to 11,571 persons with a physical and/or a sensory disability. Although the funding allocated to disability services has decreased by 3.7%, the HSE aims to minimise the impact this will have on services users and their families as much as possible. The HSE is in the process of negotiating with agencies providing personal assistant services around the unit cost of providing this service. Personal assistance services are provided by agencies grant aided under Section 39 of the Health Act 2004. Staff in such agencies are not public servants and are not encompassed within the arrangement for determining pay rates or terms and conditions of employment, applying to public sector employees.