Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 December 2011
5 Deputy Jonathan O’Brien asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the reason he has discontinued funding for an organisation (details supplied); if he will reinstate this funding to allow them to continue their activities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38143/11]
View answerIt has been decided that funding to People with Disabilities in Ireland must cease at the end of 2011. I would like to thank the members of PWDI and their staff for their efforts over the years, but in common with all aspects of Government spending, everything has to be examined with a view to preserving, so far as possible, front line services. On the basis of a value for money review, it has been clearly established that the vast majority of the money allocated to PWDI is being spent disproportionately. The largest proportion of PWDI's annual budget has been spent over the last number of years on the operation of its office headquarters and on administration, rather than on the creation of programmes and services which would directly benefit people with disabilities.
This was an untenable situation and could not be allowed to continue as people with disabilities were benefiting little from the allocation in real terms. However, there is no reason that the local People with Disabilities in Ireland, PWDI, networks throughout the country should not continue to be active as volunteer bodies or should continue their work with people with disabilities.
It is my wish to ensure that people with disabilities benefit directly from any money allocated to this sector. With this in mind, I am currently overseeing the finalisation of a major value for money and policy review of disability services in the Department of Health to ensure that existing funding allocated for people with disabilities is spent to best effect. I am also interested to hear what people with disabilities have to say on issues affecting them. I have established and I will chair a new national disability strategy implementation group to develop and progress disability strategy. The new group will include representatives from several disability stakeholder organisations and also several people with disabilities who will be able to bring their lived experience to bear directly on the important work of this high level group. This will ensure the voice and perspective of people with disabilities will continue to be heard in a more focused and cost-effective way.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
The Government must ensure that in 2012 and continuing thereafter funding is allocated for maximum provision of services for people with disabilities, having regard to overall resource constraints which affect all sectors at this time. As can be seen from the following table, due to a general decline in network activity around the country, PWDI as an organisation was unable to spend its allocation in recent years. More than €1 million allocated to PWDI since 2007 has been returned to the Exchequer. Government funding for the years 2007 to September 2011, inclusive, is set out in the following table.
|
Year |
Allocation |
Drawdown |
|
2007 |
€1,400,000 |
€1,400,000 |
|
2008 |
€1,465,000 |
€1,465,000 |
|
2009 |
€1,465,000 |
€1,088,423 |
|
2010 |
€1,465,000 |
€895,290 |
|
2011 |
€900,000 |
€577,403 |
|
Totals |
€6,695,000 |
€5,426,116 |
I wish to interrupt the Minister of State. The remainder of the reply will be in the Official Report.
I am keen to put something else on the record which is important. Some of the statements made in the past week may have inadvertently indicated that fees were paid to board members. They were not paid and they have never been paid and we are all aware of that.
I assure the Minister of State that we submitted the question last Thursday before I spoke to her on Friday. It was not done to put her on the spot; it was simply that the question was submitted before I spoke to her. I wish to know more about the reasoning behind it. The Minister of State suggested that the majority of money was spent on administration and headquarters costs. Is it possible to get some indication of what percentage of the funding was spent in these areas and what percentage was spent providing services?
As the Minister of State is aware, most disability policy flows from the old commission report on the status of people with disabilities, produced 15 years ago. The commission identified the need for a national body to represent people with disabilities in that report. Is it the intention of the Minister of State that the new strategy group she intends to establish will become such a national body to represent people with disabilities?
I will provide Deputy O'Brien with a complete breakdown of the allocation later on. It was disproportionate. I understand it was of the order of 60% or more in terms of the national headquarters.
I met the board members of People with Disabilities in Ireland this afternoon to discuss how their voice can continue to be heard. I intend that it will be heard nationally through the disability stakeholders group which is central to all of Government. Other issue must be considered as well. I see no reason that their voice cannot be heard through partnership or Leader programmes or through local authorities, in other words, where decisions are made and where people with disabilities can have a useful input. We are considering such a structure. I intend to invite more people with a particular view in respect of disability to join the disability stakeholders group at national level within the Department of the Taoiseach.
I thank the Minister of State for her reply. The groups affiliated to the PWDI remain at work. The Minister of State suggested there is no reason they cannot continue in a volunteering capacity but this is simply not practical for all the groups. Is there any possibility that these groups could apply for funding in other areas within the Department or through the HSE to enable them to continue to operate? The Minister of State knows the work of some of these groups as well as I do. They carry out great work and they should not be penalised for whatever took place at headquarters or at administrative level.
There are always areas open to such groups either through lottery funding or through the HSE. I know exactly the groups to which Deputy O'Brien is referring. We intend to consider some suitable form or structure either through partnership, Leader programmes, local authorities or the health forums. Avenues of funding are always available. The difficulty was that although the challenge was put up to PWDI earlier this year in terms of how it could give better value for money for the people it represents, this did not materialise and we must find another vehicle to make their voice heard.
