Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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851. To ask the Minister for Health if he has carried out an impact analysis of the cuts to funding for early intervention services for children with disabilities, particularly in the case of north Dublin whereby the early intervention team there has not been in a position to accept any new referrals since November 2012 due to a large volume of children on the existing caseload and consistent cuts in staff numbers due to the moratorium on public service recruitment [33265/14]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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852. To ask the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Questions No. 248 and 250 of 3 April 2014 and No. 650 of 24 June 2014, if he will provide further details regarding the way the targeted investment of €4 million and the provision of 80 additional therapy staff as part of the roll out of Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People (0-18s) Programme will have an impact on improving services for children with disabilities, including those with autism; when these additional staff members will be recruited; and if he will provide a breakdown by the Health Service Executive region of where the allocated funding will be spent [33266/14]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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853. To ask the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Questions No. 248 and 250 of 3 April 2014 and No. 650 of 24 June 2014, the current status of the works being completed by the local implementation groups in Dublin as part of the roll out of Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People (0-18s) Programme; if the consultation phase with all stakeholders has been completed as well as the development of implementation plans and the commencement of reconfiguring services [33267/14]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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857. To ask the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Questions No. 248 and 250 of 3 April 2014 and No. 650 of 24 June 2014, if he will provide an update on the number of reconfigured early intervention teams currently in place in Dublin; and if the planned 12 network teams for north Dublin are now in place [33272/14]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 851 to 853, inclusive, and 857 together.

The Government is committed to the provision and development of services for children with a disability, including early intervention services, within available resources. These services are in the process of being reconfigured under the HSE’s National Programme on Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People (0-18 years).

The aim of the Progressing Disability Services Programme is to achieve a national, unified approach to delivering disability health services so that there is a clear pathway to services for all children, regardless of where they live, what school they go to or the nature of their disability. The Programme is organised at national, regional and local level and includes representatives from the health and education sectors, non-statutory service providers and parents. It is envisaged that the Programme, when implemented, will have a positive impact on the provision of clinical services for all children who require access to health related supports. An additional €4m has been specifically allocated in 2014 to drive implementation of the Programme. This equates to approximately 80 therapy posts. Following detailed consideration by the Executive, these additional therapy posts have now been allocated and the recruitment process to fill same is currently underway.

The specific queries raised by the Deputy regarding the implementation of the Programme, including the impact of the additional €4m investment, the recruitment of therapists, the current status of Local Implementation Groups and Early Intervention and School Age Network Teams and consultation with stakeholders are operational matters for the HSE. Accordingly I have arranged for the Deputy's questions to be referred to the Executive for direct reply to him.