Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 November 2012
685. Deputy Dan Neville asked the Minister for Health the position regarding services for a person with special needs at a training centre (details suppled) in County Limerick; if he will provide funding for the options programme in Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52788/12]
View answer697. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Health if he will provide funding for the Options Programme in County Limerick which allows persons with special needs, the average age of which currently is 24 years, to remain within the training environment, giving a sense of worth of worth and value; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52830/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 685 and 697 together.
Every effort is made within available resources to provide services to young adults with disabilities who have completed their education or training programmes. Day services for adults with disabilities provide a network of support for over 25,000 people who have a wide spectrum of need, ranging from those with severe and profound disabilities who are likely to need long-term specialist service provision to people with lower support needs and greater potential for community participation and inclusion. The demand for services for those who have left school or training continues to grow and this year almost 700 school-leavers and training graduates required new placements. Disability services have been required to cater for demographic pressures such as this from within their existing budgets in 2012, which have been reduced by 3.7% in the current year. The moratorium on staff recruitment has also given rise to challenges in service provision and in addition the physical capacity to provide further services may not be present in all agencies.
The training centre in Dooradoyle provides a training programme for young adults over l8 years of age with special needs. Each trainee is funded for a maximum of 4 years and receives a training allowance of €31.80. Individuals with a disability in receipt of this allowance are usually eligible for the Disability Allowance also. In recent years, on completion of the 4 year programme many of the young adults had no employment option available to them. As a response to this lack of available employment, efforts were made to maintain the young adults within the training environment and continue to pay them the training allowance, although on completion of the training course the payment of the allowance should have ceased. No additional funding was provided for this initiative. The funded 4 year training programme continues to be provided at the centre but the numbers are now at a point where it is not possible to continue to offer a 5 day placement and pay an allowance to the young people who have completed their training due to funding constraints and lack of physical capacity at the training centre.
The HSE is currently in discussions with the parents of these young adults on how best to meet their needs. Options being explored include reducing their attendance time from 5 days to 3 days per week and the discontinuance of the training allowance.
