James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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349. To ask the Minister for Health the funding which has been set aside in each of the past five years to address the issue of loneliness and social isolation; if his Department or agencies under the remit of his Department have funded research on the topic of loneliness and social isolation; if his Department or agencies under the remit of his Department have projects planned which would address the issues of loneliness or social isolation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11250/18]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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350. To ask the Minister for Health his views on whether loneliness and social isolation are some of the greatest public health risks; the steps he plans to take to combat this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11251/18]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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351. To ask the Minister for Health the funding which has been set aside in each of the past five years to address the issue of loneliness and social isolation in particular amongst those with disabilities; if his Department or agencies under the remit of his Department have funded research on the topic of loneliness and social isolation; if his Department or agencies under the remit of his Department have projects planned which would address the issues of loneliness or social isolation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11255/18]

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 349 to 351, inclusive, together.

The Government is committed to providing services and supports for people with disabilities which will empower them to live independent lives, provide greater independence in accessing the services they choose, and enhance their ability to tailor the supports required to meet their needs.

The department of Health is also responsible for the development of policy on, and oversight of, the provisions of specialist health and personal social services for people with disability, including the reform programme for health funded specialist disability services.

Transforming Lives is the programme to implement the recommendations of the Value for Money and Policy Review of Disability Services. The Review is a multi-year project which is resulting in very significant changes to the way in which services and supports for people with disabilities are delivered in moving away from institutional models of care and service delivery to community based, person centred, models of service. The implementation of the recommendations in the VFM Review continues to be a priority in the HSE’s National Service Plan for 2018.

The Report “Time to Move on from Congregated Settings – A Strategy for Community Inclusion” proposes a new model of support in the community moving people from Congregated settings to the community in line with Government policy.

The Programme for Partnership Government contains a commitment to continue to move people with disabilities out of congregated settings, to enable them to live independently and to be included in the community.  The objective is to reduce this figure by one-third by 2021 and ultimately, to eliminate all congregated settings.

At the end of December 2017, there were less than 2,400 people with a disability living in congregated settings. The HSE has prioritised the transition of 170 people from congregated settings in 2018 under its Service Plan. The HSE has established a subgroup, under the Value for Money Steering Group, which is developing an implementation plan for moving people from institutions that will be rolled out at a regional and local level, in full consultation with residents and their families.

To ensure that the needs of people transitioning from congregated settings are fully taken into account during the process, the model of care for individuals will be based on a person centred plan (PCP). The PCP may change over time in line with an individual’s needs and circumstances and the model of service delivery applicable at a particular time.

I am acutely aware of the degree of social isolation experienced by people with a disability.

The Deputy will be interested to know that in my portfolio as Minister of State at the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, yesterday, together with my colleague Regina Doherty, I launched an extensive consultation process in relation to how our Department can support people with disabilities to obtain and retain employment. I firmly believe that securing employment can play a fundamental part in helping with the difficulties of social isolation experienced by many people with a disability.

In the context of the Deputy’s specific questions on the issues of loneliness and social isolation, in particular among people with a disability, he may wish to access the research conducted by IDS TILDA. This is a longitudinal study researching ageing in Ireland among people with an intellectual disability aged 40 and over, funded by the Department of Health, through the Health Research Board. Their website is .