Vol. 433 No. 7
130 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Health if he intends to fulfil the promise made regarding the provision of £30 million revenue expenditure on facilities and other assistance for people with a handicap which was promised under the Programme for Economic and Social Progress.
I would like to assure the Deputy that the Government is committed to fulfilling the commitments in the Programme for Economic and Social Progress in relation to the development of services for people with disabilities. As I have stated in the House on previous occasions, the Government is committed in accordance with the Programme for a Partnership Government to provide the highest possible level of service for persons with a disability.
In the current year an additional £8.5 million has been made available for the development of services for people with a mental handicap. Of the additional £8.5 million, I have made available £2 million to strengthen the funding base of the direct funded mental handicap agencies, £4 million has been allocated to the health board regions for the development of additional services and £2.5 million capital to support the initiatives put in place this year. An additional £1.5 million was also made available in the budget to provide assistance towards the provision of residential care for the physically disabled.
