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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 12 Dec 2013

Vol. 824 No. 3

Topical Issue Debate

Services for People with Disabilities

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise a quite serious issue that has come to light as a result of some students from Trinity College Dublin going on placement. I thank the Minister for coming into the Dáil to address this issue. It has been reported in the national media that ten staff from Stewarts Hospital, which is a care facility for people with intellectual disabilities, have been suspended pending investigation into allegations over the standard of care provided to residents. I have considerable experience in community work and have had the opportunity at various stages to supervise mature students who are providing a service. I know all too well that it often takes considerable courage for any student to raise issues of concern because of possible consequences.

I welcome the Government's commitment to the protection of whistleblowers and am delighted that Stewarts Hospital is working with the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, to address these particular issues. Working as a carer is, of course, a very responsible position and it is an essential part of our society based on trust. The questions raised in this investigation are somewhat disturbing. Like the exposé in this House over recent weeks about charities, long before these events took place, I formed the opinion that greater supervision of all staff, including continuous professional development and assessment, monitoring and reviewing of standards of practice and regular in-service training, are vital components to ensure that the highest standards are adhered to by all care givers but especially those directly involved with the most vulnerable members of society such as those with learning disabilities who very often do not have the full means of protecting themselves.

I have no doubt that this is particularly distressing for family members and I am asking the Minister to ask Stewarts Hospital to meet individual family members to discuss the outcome of the HIQA investigation. My fear is that there may be organisations providing care today that are not giving due attention to individual care. It begs the question as to whether this problem is systemic throughout the care sector bearing in mind the fact that many recipients of care in Stewarts Hospital are moving into their later years and in the circumstances, are regarded as more vulnerable. They require more sensitive care in such circumstances because of the dual dependency of age and intellectual disability. I would be very grateful if the Minister could convey to Stewarts Hospital my request that following the outcome of the investigations, including that of HIQA, it would agree to meet with each family.

I thank Deputy Keating for raising this matter. I am pleased to take this opportunity to outline the current position in respect of the standard of care provided to residents by the Stewarts Care organisation in Dublin.

Stewarts Care is a charitable foundation, with a long tradition in the provision of care for people with intellectual disability. The institution was the first in Ireland to offer such support for people with severe disabilities. Operating from two main sites at Palmerstown and Balgaddy in south-west Dublin and several satellite residential and service centres throughout west Dublin and north Kildare, Stewarts provides extensive on-site and community-based services. The organisation supports more than 300 residents and provides wide-ranging services for other clients, children and adults, who attend day services. Many families are also supported within their homes through the Stewarts home support programme.

The Government announced the commencement of a new scheme of registration and inspection of residential services for people with disabilities by the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, from 1 November 2013. HIQA is now able to set and monitor standards for designated centres, including residential services provided to persons with disabilities. HIQA is also empowered to undertake investigations into the safety, quality and standards of these residential services. This has been called for by the disability sector for a number of years. The sector was widely consulted in the drawing up of the new standards. With guidance from HIQA, these standards will empower providers to deliver even higher quality services.

Regarding the specific issues raised by Deputy Keating, I have been advised by the HSE that Stewarts Care received reports at the end of November from student nurses expressing concerns about some practices in the delivery of residential services to service users. Like the Deputy, I commend those young students.

In accordance with statutory requirements, Stewarts Care informed the HSE and HIQA of the reports. An investigation team was identified in line with guidance received from HIQA. I understand that, following consultation with HIQA, a number of staff have been suspended pending the outcome of this process. No one from Stewarts Care is now on the team examining the issues. It is expected that the chairman of the investigation team will meet each of the complainants over the next few days as part of the external investigation. Further action will be predicated on the outcome of this.

As an investigation into the allegations is under way, it is not appropriate for me to comment further. In addition, Stewarts Care may not be in a position to issue further comment before the completion of this process. The HSE acknowledges that the provider is working with HIQA to address all concerns and I am assured that the HSE will continue to be in close contact with Stewarts Care.

I will convey Deputy Keating's suggestion that Stewarts Care should meet each client's family once this process is complete. Not only does it seem a sensible action to take, but it is essential in order to ensure trust.

I thank the Minister for his comprehensive report. In circumstances such as these, I agree with the Minister that due process must be allowed to conclude. I am reminded of the importance of setting the record straight. As the Minister stated, Stewarts Care has been a successful operation for many years. It has cared for a large number of people appropriately. It is a wonderful institution.

I acknowledge the Minister's congratulation of the student nurses involved. We all agree that they showed great courage, notwithstanding the process that needs to take place. I am grateful to the Minister for agreeing to my request that, irrespective of the outcome, Stewarts meet the families concerned at the end of the process so as to allay their fears and put their minds at rest. We await the outcome.

I thank the Deputy again for raising this issue. A priority for the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, and I is to ensure that the most vulnerable in society have a voice. It was extraordinary that there was no inspectorate to safeguard standards in the care and support for people with disabilities, many of whom cannot speak up for themselves. It is interesting that new people can enter an environment and see with new eyes protocols that require revision. Without trying to prejudge the outcome of this investigation, I believe in a general sense that it is always good to have an outside authority to monitor and support the service so as to ensure that it meets the highest standards and keeps up to date with the modern approach to providing care for people who require it in that setting as opposed to somewhere that is everyone's preference, that is, at home or in a more independent setting.

Jobseeker's Benefit Payments

I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for allowing me to raise this issue. I am disappointed that the Minister for Social Protection is not present. She is detained elsewhere. I welcomed her announcement of a couple of weeks ago to the effect that people who were in receipt of social welfare payments and wanted to work during the Christmas period would easily be able to resume those payments. However, the real problem is not with the Christmas period, but with the entire year.

This issue was raised with me by a recruitment company in Kildare. It has approximately 1,000 people on its database. Many of those are on short-term contracts and doing part-time work. The company is being asked to fill in forms for the social welfare office. The form requires it to declare the hours people will work for the weeks ahead, but it is not able to make that prediction. If it writes "Zero" as requested, yet the people work in those weeks, they could be accused of fraudulently taking payments.

The company cannot find indigenous people to take these short-term work contracts. As a result, people who are not on the welfare system are primarily being employed. I am referring to people who come to this country and take advantage of the short-term, flexible hours. Make no mistake about it - the Irish want to work, be it for short or long terms. We must be able to provide sufficient flexibility.

If the Minister's statement is policy, it must be implemented by every office. What she wants must be acted upon by the Department. We must allow people who want to work for short terms and flexible periods to return to the social welfare system as quickly as possible. Otherwise, we are deterring people from returning to the workforce. The Minister of State, Deputy McGinley, knows as well as I do that, for the sake of their mental health, most people would rather work for two, four or six hours instead of sitting at home staring at the walls or watching television.

If it is policy to allow people to return to the social welfare system as quickly as possible, it must be implemented by all sections of the Department of Social Protection. I will appreciate the Minister of State's response.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. Regardless of the time of year, people on jobseeker schemes should not have any concern about taking up temporary work for fear of delays in getting back into payment when the jobs are finished.

In cases where a jobseeker customer takes up temporary work for a short period or avails of a short-term training course, arrangements are in place to suspend temporarily the claim so that it can be reinstated without delay when the work or training finishes. Effectively, the jobseeker's claim is kept open while the person works, although the payment is obviously stopped for the period. This temporary suspension, which was originally set at a maximum of four weeks, was increased to eight weeks in 2012 and in March 2013 it was further extended to 26 weeks for educational sector workers. The arrangements are put in place once the customer notifies the Intreo social welfare local office of an offer of temporary work.

In the 11 months from January to November 2013, the temporary suspension has been used on 49,000 occasions. This compares with less than 14,600 in 2012. Even where a person does not avail of these special arrangements, payment can be reinstated within a very short timeframe. For example, in November 2013, almost 35% of all jobseeker claims were awarded on the day the application was received, and these are cases where the special provisions for periods of temporary work were not availed of by the customer. In summary, if a person on a jobseeker's payment gets an offer of a job for up to eight weeks or gets a chance to go on a training course, they should give the details to their Intreo social welfare local office as soon as possible. The office will be glad to make the arrangements to fast track the claim back into payment when the time arrives.

Although the arrangements for temporary suspension of claims are in place all year round, the Minister recently issued a reminder of the arrangements to all Members of the Oireachtas in view of the increase in opportunities for temporary work at this time of year. The Department constantly reviews its operational procedures to ensure the best possible service for its customers. If the Deputy has a particular case in mind where payment has been delayed unnecessarily, the Minister will be glad to have the case examined by the Department on receiving details from him.

I welcome that the Minister is willing to meet with the individual, but it is not an individual in this case but a company that recruits individuals for jobs in various other companies. The recruitment company has a problem recruiting individuals for jobs in companies it has on its books. The problem is that people are scared because it takes them so long to get back on the live register after they have come off it. I understand the arrangement whereby they can come off the register temporarily, but the social welfare office asks them to indicate the hours they will work in the weeks ahead. One cannot do that if one's job is temporary, and people are worried that they might be accused of fraudulently taking money from the Department of Social Protection.

I welcome the fact that officials in the Department are willing to meet with this company to discuss the issues it has, but it is very important, now that we are generating a far more flexible workforce, that we have a social welfare system that is able to cater for that workforce. I hope all social welfare offices throughout the country are doing what the Minister actually wants them to do.

As the Minister indicated in the reply I delivered on her behalf, if there is a case to be dealt with, be it individual or general, it will be assessed. The Deputy will agree that the Minister's approach in this has been very flexible. Times have been extended and the response to applications for reinstatement is almost immediate. If the Deputy has the details, I will pass them to the Minister.

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this topical issue. I suspect it is one that is rarely raised in the House.

All Members of the House are rightly concerned with ensuring that the State supports children who may have learning difficulties or other disadvantages that might hamper their educational development or their general opportunities in life. It might seem a little strange to be seeking support for very bright or gifted children with exceptional learning ability, but it is an issue that we must address both for the well-being of the children concerned and also for the benefit of the country. It is tempting to be glib and ask what these children could possibly need and to say they are very lucky and that their parents should be thankful. However, these children have specific requirements which must be met if they are to fulfil their potential and maximise the contribution they can make to society and the economy.

We all recall from our childhoods that the worst thing a child can be is different, one way or the other. There is a danger of exceptionally gifted children being isolated and sometimes frustrated in the learning environment they occupy in the standard State school system. These children learn faster, earlier and differently. There is a growing population of children in Ireland with what is called dual exceptionality. This is where their intellectual ability is often in the top 5% quotient or above, but they also might have a mild to severe learning challenge and sometimes even a profound disability. Being an exceptionally bright child does not always mean that the child will have an exceptionally bright future, and parenting can be a daunting challenge for those who are rearing what is known as a gifted child.

Unlike many countries, there appear to be scant resources available in Ireland for exceptionally able children, yet it is estimated there are over 27,000 children who fit into this category. There is also probably a need to ensure that training is provided for teachers to recognise and cater for children with exceptional ability. On the face of it, there appears to be a lack of opportunities for those children to develop their talents and skills further. I am aware of the facilities in Dublin City University, DCU, and the University of Limerick. However, if one identifies a gifted footballer, musician or artist when they are young, those skills are honed, encouraged and developed. There is a vast number of children in this country, 27,000, who fit the profile of being exceptionally able, so it is important that we try, in so far as we can and notwithstanding the resources available to us, to contribute as much as possible to develop their ability so they can fit in and continue to enjoy the school and general learning experience they encounter.

I am pleased to have the opportunity to respond to the issue raised by Deputy Nash and to clarify the position regarding the supports available for gifted children in schools.

The Education Act 1998 requires the board of management of each school to publish the policy of the school relating to participation by students with special educational needs, including students who are exceptionally able. The measures schools take in this regard are required to be stated in the school plan. It is the duty of school boards of management to ensure that appropriate education services are made available to such students.

Schools at both primary and second level use strategies such as curriculum differentiation, curriculum enrichment and acceleration to facilitate the development of pupils who are exceptionally able. Syllabi and curricula for second level schools have been designed in such a way as to enable teachers to cater for the wide range of pupil ability.

The revised primary curriculum recognises the importance of developing the full potential of the child and caters for pupil diversity, including meeting the needs of exceptionally able pupils. The curriculum at primary and secondary school level identifies curricular content and matters relating to the learning process and places strong emphasis on enabling children to learn how to learn. The curriculum also places considerable emphasis on the development of language skills, investigatory and problem solving skills, higher-order thinking skills, working individually and as a member of a group. These skills are encouraged at both levels.

Use of information and communication technologies and class and school libraries is meant to benefit all pupils in terms of additional learning. The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NCCA, in collaboration with its counterpart in Northern Ireland, the Council for Curriculum Examination and Assessment, CCEA, has produced draft guidelines for teachers of exceptionally able students. These guidelines issued to all primary and post primary schools in November 2007, along with a questionnaire for feedback. The NCCA-CCEA guidelines are designed to raise awareness of the social, emotional and academic needs of exceptionally able students and to assist teachers in planning their teaching and learning. The guidelines provide advice to schools on the identification of gifted children. They set out profiles of students and identify whole school and classroom strategies and case studies which demonstrate how schools can best meet the needs of such students.

The Special Education Support Service, SESS, is a service under the management of the Department of Education and Skills which provides support for teachers to assist them in meeting the needs of all pupils with special educational needs, including pupils who are exceptionally able. The service is available to schools which may be seeking advice or support relating to a specific special education issue in the school. In addition, the Professional Development Service for Teachers, PDST, also under the management of the Department, provides training to assist teachers to differentiate for all pupils, whether less or more able. Issues around exceptional ability and giftedness are addressed as part of the school planning process which is facilitated by the PDST.

I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply which sets out the services available and the policies which inform those services. It is important that we have in place a support mechanism for young people who are exceptionally able. Through my work as a constituency Deputy I have had contact with students who are frustrated because they no longer feel challenged in a classroom environment, which then leads to frustration in the teaching profession. Our teachers do an excellent job but often find it difficult to continue to challenge a student who feels academically unfulfilled in a classroom environment. A teacher has a significant number of pupils to teach and coach through the curriculum. Parents are also trying to balance all of this. It is important this area is closely monitored.

As I said earlier, I am conscious of a service in Dublin City University which provides an outlet and resources for exceptionally able children. It is important that such resources are available to all children and not only children from families who can afford to access them. I know that the Dublin City University service does its utmost to support everybody who tries to access it. I thank the Minister of State for his response to this issue. It is an area in which I have an interest and know the Minister of State, given his brief, will also be interested in it.

I again thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I can assure him that we have a good knowledge of the DCU entity. I would be interested in exploring avenues with other higher education institutes, be they institutes of technology or universities, in regard to the development of similar entities.

To be fair, teachers have a number of students to teach within the classroom environment and try to do so to the best of their ability. There may be additional resources that could be provided in a third level academic environment near to where the student lives that might encourage the exceptional needs about which we are speaking. It is an issue on which I have an open mind. The DCU model could potentially be replicated with the willingness of the institutes of technology and universities.

Garda Resources

I understand that the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, is unable to be here today. However, as the Minister of State, Deputy McGinley, will be aware, Garda resources in Border counties, particularly Donegal, have been drained during the past two to three years to the extent that they are now exceptionally stretched and at a level which makes it difficult or impossible to provide the level of policing required to ensure Border areas in particular are policed.

The Minister of State will be aware of the particular challenges in Border areas in terms of the problems that arise for communities living close to populated areas which a force is not responsible for policing. There are many avenues for cross-Border crime. Unless the necessary resources are put in place those wishing to do so will continue to exploit the lack of resources available to police cross-Border crime, leading to an increase in crime in this regard.

What does the Minister, Deputy Shatter, propose to do to address the chronic shortage of gardaí in Donegal and to ensure that its communities can feel safe and be properly policed?

On behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, I thank the Deputy for raising this matter of significant public importance. Unfortunately, the Minister cannot be here to respond to this issue as he is attending a Garda Reserve graduation in Templemore.

The Deputy will be aware that the Commissioner is responsible for the allocation throughout the organisation of resources, including personnel, transport and other facilities. The Minister has no function in this matter. The allocation of resources is constantly monitored by the Commissioner and his senior management in the context of demographics, crime trends, policing needs and other operational strategies in place on a district, division and regional basis to ensure optimum use is made of Garda resources.

Today, the Minister announced the opening of a recruitment campaign for new recruits to the Garda Síochána. It is four years since recruitment last took place. The Minister is delighted to be in a position to provide for the recruitment of new members to An Garda Síochána. Following a difficult time for our economy it is a huge positive that we can begin again to take new members into the force. It is expected that the new recruits will enter the Garda college in mid-2014, when they will embark on a progressive new training course. The new course has been developed to reflect the current policing environment and will better equip Garda members for the reality of life on our streets. It will also allow for attestation of members after 32 weeks, following which they will assigned to Garda stations with full policing powers. It is the Minister's declared intention to retain Garda numbers at 13,000. This will be bolstered by the current recruitment campaign.

It is the Minister's declared intention to retain Garda numbers at 13,000 and this will be bolstered by this recruitment campaign.

In the Donegal Garda division there have been several serious incidents and high-profile aggravated burglaries on elderly victims along the Border area in during 2013. Operation Liath was introduced within Donegal division in January 2013 as an operational strategy to improve public safety and enhance the effectiveness of high-visibility police resources within the division. This operation in Donegal is running in conjunction with national operations such as Operation Fiacla and other Garda operations in existence to combat criminality within the Donegal division. The main focus of this ongoing operation is to disrupt and prevent criminality against older persons within the community, to apprehend suspects in the commission and the attempted commission of offences and to fully investigate detect and prosecute any offences outstanding against those suspects and groups. This will be achieved through a focused, targeted and co-ordinated approach by the Garda Síochána.

The objectives of the operation are being addressed through intelligence-led patrols, checkpoints, continued liaison between the Garda Síochána and the Police Service of Northern Ireland, intelligence gathering and the continued support and rejuvenation of neighbourhood watch and community alert schemes. The Commissioner has informed the Minister that there are 412 gardaí, 29 garda reserves and 28 civilian staff assigned to the Donegal division. These resources are further augmented, where necessary, by several Garda national units, including the Garda traffic unit, the Garda national drugs unit, the national bureau of criminal investigation, the criminal assets bureau and other specialised units. The Minister is determined that the resources of the Garda Síochána will be used in the most effective and efficient way and that the best possible service is provided to the public. The Minister is confident that the primary Garda objective of combating crime will continue to be achieved and that, despite the pressure on the public finances, it will be possible for the force to operate to the optimum benefit of our communities in a manner that will facilitate the prevention and detection of offences.

This is not the first time, unfortunately, I have had to raise this issue on the floor of the Dáil. When I raised it previously, the Minister for Justice and Equality said he did not see Border areas as special cases in respect of how policing plans are laid out and developed. He saw no distinction between the needs there and the needs in other parts of the country. Unfortunately, when that is the type of leadership coming from the Minister, it gives the wrong message to the public. Also, it is not the best type of leadership in terms of giving a message to the Garda about how the Government understands the particular needs. Although the day-to-day operations of the Garda are the responsibility of the Commissioner, it is the Minister who sets out the resources and who decides the number of gardaí he must work with.

The Minister of State outlined that we now have 412 gardaí in the county of Donegal. That is down from 466 at the end of 2010, over 54 personnel down. That is well in excess of a 10% decrease in only a couple of years, a significant decrease. We are seeing this in terms of gardaí being stretched on the ground to try to meet the particular needs of Border areas.

I call on the Minister of State to comment. Does he see Border areas as having particular needs or special circumstances which require particular policing needs? Do we require an acknowledgement from the Government in terms of the types of resources required? I realise recruitment is starting again, not before time, but we have a particular issue in respect of incidents in Border areas. The Government must respond to this and equip the Garda and the Garda Commissioner to respond.

I call on the Minister of State to provide more specific information to show that the Government has an understanding and acknowledges the difficulties that exist. It has not done so before. Will the Minister of State to give the House details, if possible, in terms of what the Government will do to assist the Commissioner in addressing these needs?

The Minister recognises the importance of combating crime in every part of this jurisdiction. That is why he has succeeded in securing a budget of €1.3 billion for the Garda Síochána during the coming year. Furthermore, it is why he has succeeded, after a period of four years, in lifting the embargo on Garda recruitment. For the first time in four years we are opening up Templemore and new entrants will be going in by the middle of next year. After 32 weeks they will be dispersed throughout the country and communities to do what the Deputy has outlined. That is the reason the Minister has succeeded in getting an extra €9 million to augment the Garda fleet, which is so important in rural areas and every area. A total of 305 new vehicles will be provided by the end of this year.

I believe that these steps indicate the importance we attach to providing a safe environment for our citizens in every part of the country, including the Border areas, and, as Deputy McConalogue noted, in my county. I am familiar with what is going on there and I am pleased that there has not been any great escalation of crime. Nevertheless, there are incidents and it is in the interests of everyone to ascertain who carried them out and bring them to justice. Steps have been taken and steps are being taken to enable the Garda and the Commissioner to carry out their work as efficiently as possible.

The Dáil adjourned at 4.25 p.m. until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, 17 December 2013.
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