Written answers

Thursday, 19 January 2023

Department of Health

Disability Services

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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294. To ask the Minister for Health if speech and language therapy sessions will be commenced by 30 April 2023 in the case of the son of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2452/23]

Photo of Anne RabbitteAnne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Photo of Mary Lou McDonaldMary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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295. To ask the Minister for Health the maximum number of personal assistance hours that can be provided to a person per week under the scheme. [2453/23]

Photo of Anne RabbitteAnne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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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.

PA Services are provided either directly by the HSE or through a range of voluntary service providers. The majority of specialised disability provision (80%) is delivered through non-statutory sector service providers.

Services are accessed through an application process or through referrals from public health nurses or other community based staff. Individuals’ needs are evaluated against the criteria for prioritisation for the service and then decisions are made in relation to the allocation of resources.

Resource allocation is determined by the needs of the individual, compliance with prioritisation criteria, and the level of resources available. As with every service there is not a limitless resource available for the provision of PA services and while the resources available are substantial they are finite. In this context, services are discretionary and the number of hours granted is considered along other support services already provided to the person/family.

Photo of Mary Lou McDonaldMary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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296. To ask the Minister for Health the budget allocated by his Department to the personal assistant scheme for people with disabilities for the years 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022; and the personal assistant scheme budget allocated to each CHO area for 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, in tabular form. [2460/23]

Photo of Anne RabbitteAnne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Photo of Mary Lou McDonaldMary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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297. To ask the Minister for Health when he will address the deficit in the personal assistant scheme funding, as identified by community healthcare organisations. [2461/23]

Photo of Anne RabbitteAnne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Photo of Mary Lou McDonaldMary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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298. To ask the Minister for Health his response to the shortfalls identified in the ESRI Research Bulletin Personal Assistance Services in Ireland: A Capability Approach to Understanding the Lived Experience of Disabled People, published on 2 December 2022. [2462/23]

Photo of Anne RabbitteAnne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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As Minister of State for Disabilities, I welcomed the publication of this ESRI report when it was launched in December. I know this report will be invaluable in informing the planned HSE Working Group on improving Personal Assistance Services.

The report demonstrates that service users are seeking more flexible, individualised supports. I strongly believe that this flexibility must be built in to services as this is one of the ways in which we can ensure that people with disabilities are enabled to live their lives the way they chose .

This Government and the HSE are committed to protecting the level of Personal Assistance Services available to persons with disabilities to live an independent life of their own design, in line with the disability reform policy - “Transforming Lives”. The HSE has consistently, year on year, increased the number of hours of PA Services delivered to people with a disability.

The HSE provides a range of assisted living services including Personal Assistance Services to support individuals to maximise their capacity to live full and independent lives. In 2022, the HSE target was to deliver 1.7m hours of PA services to over 2,500 people. While the final end of year figure will be published shortly, every indication is that this target will be met.

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