Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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77. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he has taken responsibility for disability services. [5973/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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A Government Decision in December 2022 confirmed that the transfer of policy, functions and funding responsibility relating to specialist community-based disability services from the Minister for Health to the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth would take place on March 1st 2023 and noted that necessary enabling work will be completed in advance of the transfer. A Senior Officials' Group (SOG) is overseeing progress on this work.

My Department, along with the Department of Health, the HSE and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, are all actively engaging to ensure appropriate and robust accountability and governance arrangements are in place in advance of the transfer.

This is a very significant transfer of functions, both from the point of view of improving services for persons with a disability but also from the perspective the Department of Health and this Department. It involves a circa €2.6 billion of funding and has significant implications for the HSE.

The location of disability equality policy and functions in a single Department will facilitate strategic policy development, including implementation of the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). Importantly, responsibility for the delivery of theses specialist services will be retained within the Health Service Executive following the transfer.

My Department is putting in place the required structures and resources to ensure continuity in service delivery, planning and strategic direction in disability policy. This will help facilitate the transition from a medical model of support towards a holistic, rights based approach that supports people with disabilities to live autonomously.

The Department of Health remains responsible for oversight of HSE disabilities services until the transfer date of March 1st.