Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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A key ongoing objective for the Department and the HSE is to ensure that appropriate funding is available to provide stability to voluntary organisations that provide essential services for people with disabilities. Our focus is to protect and strengthen these vital services in the interests of meeting the needs of people with disabilities on an equitable basis across the country.

The financial challenges facing the voluntary sector are highly complex, arising from both historical issues around funding arrangements as well as emerging challenges due to changing profile of user need, higher safety and quality standards and general demographic pressures.

The Government is working to progressively address these challenges. The Disability Capacity review in 2021 was an important step in mapping out and acknowledging the levels of unmet need in the sector. The recently published Disability Action Plan sets out our ambition for reform and expansion of disability services over the next three years.

This Government has demonstrated its continuing commitment to people with disabilities with increasing levels of funding year on year and a record €2.9 billion being provided in 2024.

I can assure the Deputy that the HSE, backed by my Department, is committed to fully funding the organisation to meet all its service delivery obligations in 2024. This protects the continuity of services and ensures St John of God Community Services remains solvent and compliant with financial and accounting regulations.