Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

539. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the date at which the Disability Capacity Review Action Plan will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29656/23]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Department of Health published the Disability Capacity Review in July 2021. This report set out the capacity requirements for health-funded disability services for the period up to 2032 and it is intended to address the capacity deficits in a phased approach over this period. This reflects the obligation under the UNCRPD for progressive implementation of social, cultural and economic rights.

Following the commitment in the 2020 Programme for Government to work towards implementing the findings, a Disability Action Plan Framework was published in July 2021 alongside the Terms of Reference for an interdepartmental Working Group to develop this Action Plan.

The Working Group has now completed its work and the draft Action Plan, which will be an implementation plan for the first phase, is currently being finalised for approval. An exact date for publication has not yet been set. This detailed Action Plan sets out the first phase of work to build the necessary capacity. This Action Plan aims to build the capacity of disability support services to meet changing needs; improve timely access to services; do the groundwork to tackle constraints on the development of services; strengthen the focus on individualised services and supports to enable people with disabilities to live a life of their choosing in the community; begin the realignment of services to deliver better value with a particular focus on early intervention.

In recent years, significant resources have been invested by the health sector in disability services. Building on the previous year, an unprecedented level of funding of €2.6b for Disability services has been allocated for 2023. This follows substantial increases in the budget in 2021 and 2022; and reflects this Government’s commitment to strengthening the funding provided for the disability sector and working to act to address the shortfalls identified in the Disability Capacity Review.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

540. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the timeline he is working towards for publication of the Roadmap for Progressing Disability Services which was said to be in development in June 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29658/23]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As this refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

541. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the timeline he is working towards for publication of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) Implementation Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29659/23]

Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

548. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for an update on the UNCRPD Implementation Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29721/23]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 541 and 548 together.

The Programme for Government sets out the commitment to develop an implementation plan to coordinate implementation of Ireland’s commitments under the UNCRPD. With the conclusion of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy (NDIS) at the end of 2022, development of a successor strategy that also satisfies the Programme for Government commitment is underway.

Work to develop a new national disability strategy has been ongoing in my Department since 2021. The development of the NDIS Successor Strategy is complex as it needs to provide the blueprint for further comprehensive realisation of the UNCRPD. It needs time at development stage in order to produce the best possible blueprint for UNCRPD realisation.

Both the focus of the new disability strategy and the implementation structure will be developed collaboratively across Government and with people with disabilities and their representative organisations, in line with the Convention itself and it's commitment to "nothing about us without us". In this regard, a comprehensive public consultation process to inform the new strategy is being developed by my Department, which will proceed along with more targeted consultations.

The new strategy will follow Ireland’s long-standing ‘mainstream-first’ approach to disability policy. This will require mature collaboration and sectoral leadership from across government and the wider public service.

Based on feedback to date on the successes and challenges of the NDIS, the new strategy is expected to be more explicitly focused on outcomes. It will also necessarily concentrate on a tighter and more targeted number of ambitious actions that will deliver the most significant change and progress. These will be identified in close collaboration with stakeholders.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

542. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the timeline he is working towards for publication of the Cost of Disability Action Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29660/23]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Cost of Disability in Ireland report was commissioned by the Minister for Social Protection and was prepared by Indecon International Research Economists. It was published by the Department of Social Protection in December 2021. It provides important evidence of the additional costs that people with a disability face.

The Report has implications for many areas of public policy. As such, a whole-of-Government approach is required to develop appropriate responses and to ensure that everyday costs are reduced for people with disabilities and their families. This is in keeping with Ireland's long-standing mainstream-first approach to the development of disability policy. For that reason, the Cost of Disability report was referred to the Steering Group of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy (NDISSG) within 24 hours of publication, and the NDISSG agreed to consider the conclusions and recommendations of the report in the context of monitoring actions under the NDIS until the conclusion of that strategy in December 2022. During this time, departments and agencies across Government reported to the NDISSG on the various ways in which the Cost of Disability report was informing their approach to delivering actions under the NDIS. The NDIS has now ended.

While my Department has no plans to develop or publish a specific cross-Goverment Action Plan to respond to the Cost of Disability report, I will continue to ensure that the Cost of Disability report informs actions within the context of the specialist community-based disability services which my Department has responsibility for since the transfer of functions from the Department of Health on 1 March 2023.

Work is ongoing across Government to coordinate the development of a successor strategy to the NDIS. It is important to me that this strategy includes meaningful action to reduce day to day costs for people with disabilities in Ireland. The Cost of Disability in Ireland report will be an important contribution to the evidence base from which actions and commitments in the new strategy are developed across Government throughout 2023.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

543. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth what his Department is doing to progress the Transport Working Group's final report published in February this year to enhance transport and mobility supports for people with disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29700/23]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The issue of transport and mobility supports for people with disabilities is a key priority that has implications for several departments and agencies across Government including, since the transfer of functions from the Department of Health in March 2023, my own.

Under the National Disability Inclusion Strategy 2017-2022, the Action 104 Transport Working Group was established to make progress on an important cross-Government action to review transport and mobility supports for people with disabilities and to advance proposals for the enhancement of these supports going forward. Although interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, I chaired meetings of the Transport Working Group from its resumption of work in January 2022 up to its conclusion in December 2022.

The Transport Working Group's work has now concluded and its final report was published in February 2023. It is available on my Department's website. The report conveys the contributions and proposals made by members of the Group for the enhancement of transport and mobility supports for people with disabilities.

Transport and mobility supports are critical in supporting inclusion and independent living. For that reason, it is incumbent on colleagues across Government with responsibility for transport and mobility supports to carefully consider how the recommendations of the Transport Working Group ought to be advanced with their respective responsibilities and in light of the schemes and supports that they administer and operate.

Within my own Department, I am giving full and due consideration to the recommendations of the Transport Working Group in relation to the closed Mobility Allowance and Motorised Transport Grant, and in relation to transport to and from specialist community-based disability services.

The Working Group's final report will also form an important part of the evidence base guiding the development of the successor to the National Disability Inclusion Strategy throughout 2023.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Government decided to close the Motorised Transport Grant and Mobility Allowance administrative Schemes in 2013, on foot of the Ombudsman reports in 2011 and 2012 regarding the legal status of both Schemes in the context of the Equal Status Acts. Both schemes remain closed.

Under the National Disability Inclusion Strategy 2017-2022, the Action 104 Transport Working Group was established in 2020 to make progress on an important cross-Government action to review transport and mobility supports for people with disabilities and to advance proposals for the enhancement of these supports going forward. As Minister of State with responsibility for Disability, I chaired meetings of the Transport Working Group from January 2022 up to its conclusion in December 2022.

The Group's work has now concluded and the final report was published in February 2023. The Report is available on the website of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and sets out the contributions made by members for the enhancement of transport and mobility supports for people with disabilities.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Optional Protocol is an international treaty that establishes procedures aimed at strengthening the implementation and monitoring of the Convention. Ratification of the Optional Protocol is a commitment in the Programme for Government. The timeline for ratification was originally anticipated to follow the conclusion of Ireland’s first review period before the UN Committee. Due to delays at UN level, Ireland’s appearance before the Committee will now be delayed. Due to this delay, both Minister O'Gorman and I have indicated our support for earlier ratification of the Optional Protocol.

My Department is continuing to scope out the requirements for earlier ratification. This scoping work is required due to the long-standing position of the state in relation to honouring international agreements. As a matter of foreign policy, Ireland does not enter into binding international treaties until we are confident that the obligations set out within can be complied with. As such, the ongoing scoping exercise is procedurally necessary.

While I had expected the scoping exercise to have been completed by Easter this year, the procurement of appropriate expert legal services to complete and conclude the exercise has been delayed. A tender for the necessary specialist services was issued in February of this year, but that process did not result in a suitable contract being awarded. My Department is now in the process of revising the approach to be taken but I can assure the Deputy that this is being addressed as a matter of urgency.

My Department is consulting with the Office of the Attorney General to identify appropriate legal expertise so that the scoping exercise can be completed at the earliest possible time. I am informed that the work will be complete in Quarter 4 of this year, should the procurement of expertise go to plan on this occasion.

Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

546. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for an update on the Disability Capacity Review Action Plan; when it will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29718/23]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Department of Health published the Disability Capacity Review in July 2021. This report set out the capacity requirements for health-funded disability services for the period up to 2032 and it is intended to address the capacity deficits in a phased approach over this period. This reflects the obligation under the UNCRPD for progressive implementation of social, cultural and economic rights.

Following the commitment in the 2020 Programme for Government to work towards implementing the findings, a Disability Action Plan Framework was published in July 2021 alongside the Terms of Reference for an interdepartmental Working Group to develop this Action Plan.

The Working Group has now completed its work and the draft Action Plan, which will be an implementation plan for the first phase, is currently being finalised for approval. This detailed Action Plan sets out the first phase of work to build the necessary capacity. This Action Plan aims to build the capacity of disability support services to meet changing needs; improve timely access to services; do the groundwork to tackle constraints on the development of services; strengthen the focus on individualised services and supports to enable people with disabilities to live a life of their choosing in the community; begin the realignment of services to deliver better value with a particular focus on early intervention.

In recent years, significant resources have been invested by the health sector in disability services. Building on the previous year, an unprecedented level of funding of €2.6b for Disability services has been allocated for 2023. This follows substantial increases in the budget in 2021 and 2022; and reflects this Government’s commitment to strengthening the funding provided for the disability sector and working to act to address the shortfalls identified in the Disability Capacity Review.

Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

547. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for an update on the Roadmap for Progressing Disability Services; when it will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29720/23]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As this refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

549. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for an update on the Cost of Disability Action Plan; when it will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29722/23]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Department of Health published the Disability Capacity Review in July 2021. This report set out the capacity requirements for health-funded disability services for the period up to 2032 and it is intended to address the capacity deficits in a phased approach over this period. This reflects the obligation under the UNCRPD for progressive implementation of social, cultural and economic rights.

Following the commitment in the 2020 Programme for Government to work towards implementing the findings, a Disability Action Plan Framework was published in July 2021 alongside the Terms of Reference for an interdepartmental Working Group to develop this Action Plan.

The Working Group has now completed its work and the draft Action Plan, which will be an implementation plan for the first phase, is currently being finalised for approval. An exact date for publication has not yet been set. This detailed Action Plan sets out the first phase of work to build the necessary capacity. This Action Plan aims to;

• build the capacity of disability support services to meet changing needs;
• improve timely access to services;
• do the groundwork to tackle constraints on the development of services;
• strengthen the focus on individualised services and supports to enable people with disabilities to live a life of their choosing in the community;
• begin the realignment of services to deliver better value with a particular focus on early intervention;