Margaret Murphy O'Mahony (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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1137. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the way her Department is improving services and increasing supports for persons with disabilities during 2017. [34027/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I should inform the Deputy at the outset that responsibility for disability services rests with the Minister for Health.

The Department of Justice and Equality leads on the National Disability Inclusion Strategy (NDIS). The Deputy may be aware that the new NDIS for the period 2017-2020 is to be launched later this week and I am strongly supportive of that Strategy. Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures, the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People includes a number of commitments across a range of Government Departments and agencies aimed at improving outcomes for children and young people with disabilities. I am confident that the key actions under each theme and objective of the new NDIS, which will identify the lead Department and timeframe for implementation, will deliver on these commitments.

Under the theme of Joined Up Services, my Department will work with the Department of Education and Skills and the HSE to consider how best to facilitate smooth transitions into, within and out of education.

My Department will take a lead role to under the theme of Education to ensure the full implementation of the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM). AIM is a child-centred model, involving seven levels of progressive support based on the needs of the child and the pre-school setting. Its goal is to empower pre-school providers to deliver an inclusive pre-school experience, ensuring that every eligible child can fully participate in the ECCE programme and reap the benefits of quality early years care and education. AIM was introduced in June 2016 and has provided targeted support to children with a disability in accessing the ECCE programme in over 3000 instances since then. Funding of €32.42m has been provided for AIM in 2017.

The NDIS also commits to the development and implementation of effective national joint working protocols between Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), disability services and education to ensure that children and young people with disabilities can access CAMHS services.

I have previously outlined to the House the work being done by Tusla to improve interagency working governing children in care and aftercare, and access to disability services. Tusla and the HSE agreed a protocol which will operate to ensure good collaboration between Tusla and the HSE. It will provide clarity for those tasked with ensuring that appropriate services are provided by the relevant agency to the children and young people who need them. Over the past year there has been intensive and productive engagement at official and at Ministerial level to establish the protocol.

In relation to young people transitioning from State care into adult disability services, Tusla has agreed to meet the required expenditure outlay for such young people – even though they are no longer in the care of the State – until the end of 2017. Thereafter all such young people, and indeed future cohorts of children in State care moving into adult services, will transfer to an appropriate HSE-funded service upon turning 18.

My Department operates in accordance with the Disability Act 2005 and the Code of Practice for the Employment of People with a Disability in the Irish Civil Service to promote and support the employment of persons with disabilities. The Disability Liaison Officer in my Department works with staff who have identified a disability to ensure that they are provided with all necessary supports to enable them to integrate and work to their full capacity. The Department also has an Access Officer who is responsible for providing or arranging for and co-ordinating the provision of assistance and guidance to persons with disabilities in accessing the Department's services. Details of the Access Officer are available on the Department's website.