Written answers

Thursday, 10 October 2013

Department of Health

Services for People with Disabilities

Photo of Tommy BroughanTommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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194. To ask the Minister for Health if support for the disability sector will be maintained by his Department in budget 2014, particularly for Prosper Fingal which has services across north County Dublin. [42857/13]

Photo of Kathleen LynchKathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Prosper Fingal was established in 1978 as a parents and friends organisation (formerly called The Fingal Association for the Handicapped), to provide a local day service for adults with a moderate or mild learning disability. The aim of the organisation is to “enable people with disabilities develop their true potential towards full and independent participation in society”. Prosper Fingal provides personal and social services to adults with an intellectual disability on behalf of the Health Service Executive under Section 39 of the Health Act 2004. Services are provided through a Service Arrangement which is reviewed on an annual basis.

The HSE will continue to work closely with voluntary service providers and service users and their families to ensure available resources are used in a creative and flexible manner in order to be responsive to the needs that present. The Health Service as a whole has to operate within the parameters of funding available to it and given the current economic environment; this has become a major challenge for all stakeholders, including the HSE, voluntary service providers, services users and their families. The level of funding available for the health budget and the extent of the savings required in the health sector are being considered as part of the estimates and budgetary process for 2014 which is currently underway. Pending completion of the national estimates, budgetary and service planning process for 2014 it is not possible to predict the service levels to be provided next year for the disability sector.

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