Vol. 467 No. 1
130 Miss M. Wallace asked the Minister for Health the process by which he is seeking to review, at a regional and a national level, the implementation of the Needs and Abilities report; and his furture intentions regarding its implementation. [12512/96]
As the Deputy is aware, my Department, in conjunction with the health boards, is currently preparing a five year development plan for services to persons with a mental handicap to meet the needs identified by the new national mental handicap database.
The national plan will be based on regional plans which the health boards, with the assistance of the regional mental handicap co-ordinating committees, are currently compiling. The report of the Review Group on Mental Handicap Services, Needs and Abilities, endorsed the direction in which services to persons with a mental handicap had been developing and provided a blueprint for service delivery into the next century. However, it is generally accepted that the estimates in relation to the numbers of persons with a mental handicap requiring services contained in the report were not based on any firm data. The national mental handicap database will provide my Department with a more accurate estimate of both current and future needs.
