Currently, the provision of health related services, including residential and respite care, for people with a disability is a matter for the Eastern Regional Health Authority and the health boards in the first instance.
The health service reform programme's priority focus is improved patient care, better value for taxpayers' money and improved health care management. The new structures set out in the reform programme will provide a clear national focus on service delivery and executive management and will achieve this through reduced fragmentation and the creation of clear and unambiguous accountability throughout the system. I am confident that the programme is in the interests of an improved system of patient-centred service delivery, greater accountability, quality and value for money. The precise arrangements for service delivery in any particular area will be determined by the HSE in due course.