Finian McGrath
Question:1792. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health if he will respond to the issues raised in correspondence (details supplied) regarding independent living. [38793/12]
View answerTuesday, 18 September 2012
Questions (1792)
Written answers
The Report of the Value for Money (VFM) and Policy Review of the Disability Services Programme recommends a significant restructuring of the Disability Services Programme through:
- migration from an approach which is predominantly organised around group-based service delivery, towards a model of person-centred, individually chosen supports; and
- implementation of a more effective method of assessing need, allocating resources and monitoring resource use.
The Department of Health and the Health Service Executive will pursue issues concerning the move towards independent living in the context of the implementation of the recommendations contained in the VFM Report.
The VFM Review acknowledges that an individualised supports model has many aspects and may be implemented in a number of ways and recommends that further work should be undertaken by the HSE and the Department of Health to identify the precise features of the model proposed, taking into account that the model will be multi-form and multi-faceted, in order that it may be fully appraised and costed. The priority for the Department and the HSE is to further improve current services, while expediting the analysis of the benefits to be gained from models which focus on independent living through demonstration projects which will be evaluated for wider applicability. The balance and emphasis will shift firmly and comprehensively towards these new models of individualised supports and independent living once sufficient analysis of the benefits is carried out in the Irish context and adequate financial management, resource allocation and governance structures are in place to ensure their long-term viability.
Question No. 1793 answered with Question No. 1752.