(Dublin North-West) asked the Minister for Health if he has made a special allocation to any health board as promised in the Green Paper on physical handicap; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Services for the Disabled.
14.
Officials of my Department have had a number of meetings in recent months with voluntary organisations for the disabled to see how the various recommendations in the Green Paper on Services for Disabled People might best be implemented. Further meetings have been arranged for the coming months.
In the meantime a number of major developments in relation to the care of the physically disabled have taken place. New children's residences are being provided for St. Mary's girls school and St. Joseph's boys school, Cabra for Deaf and Hearing Impaired Children. Work has started on the St. Joseph's project while the tenders for St. Mary's have been approved. The provision of a new children's residence at St. Mary's home and school for the blind and sight impaired, Merrion, is in the final stages of planning, and work is expected to start later this year. Plans for the replacement of the adult accommodation at the home, and the building of a National Blind Centre at Rathmines, Dublin, are being prepared.
I have made funds available to the Cheshire Foundation to enable it to carry out major schemes of improvements to the Barrett Cheshire Home in Dublin and the Glanmire Cheshire Home in Cork. I have also agreed to make funds available to the foundation in 1987 to enable it to proceed with the building of a new Cheshire Home in Monkstown, County Dublin. The estimated total cost of all those developments is £18.02 million.
In addition I have made funds available in the period 1984 to-date to a number of organisations to enable them to carry out minor repairs and improvements to their premises. The cost of those works come to around £195,000.
The national plan, Building on Reality, provides for funds to be made available for the development of services in the community care area. Among the projects for the physically disabled I have been able to assist from those development funds are the “Abode” hostel and day-care centre in Cork, domicilary physiotherapy services in the Eastern Health Board area, a day care centre in Ardee and a home care attendants scheme in the Midland Health Board area. All of these developments are fully in line with the thrust of the Green Paper which is to develop community care facilities for the disabled.