Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 March 2015
405. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health how the Health Service Executive can justifiably impose value-for-money part-year cuts for 2014 of up to 3% and full-year cuts in 2015 of up to 6% on the Camphill Communities of Ireland in November 2014 on what are historically-low capitation fees, which are comparably below the lower average capitation fees for the sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9030/15]
View answer406. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health if the 2015 service plan of the Health Service Executive contains enough funding to fully cover all of the associated costs that arise from a recent Labour Court ruling around sleepover rates and a maximum working week for 39 agencies, such as Camphill Communities of Ireland, including payments dated back to September 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9031/15]
View answer414. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health if he will support the vital and excellent service of Camphill Communities of Ireland for those with an intellectual disability; his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding this service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9156/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 405, 406 and 414 together.
In the Health Service Executive's (HSE's) National Service Plan and Social Care Division Operational Plan for 2014, the HSE confirmed that funding reductions for the Disability sector would be limited to the Haddington Road Agreement (HRA) & related measures and the Value-For-Money (VFM) target of €5m.
In order to arrive at a fair and equitable allocation of the efficiency targets, the HSE initiated a process through its Social Care Division in conjunction with the Section 38 & 39 organisations to assess the capacity for implementation of HRA and other measures within the voluntary sector, in particular, Section 39s.
In recognition of the time required to complete this work, only 50% of the 2014 requirement (€2.5 m) was assigned to agencies and accordingly the value of the efficiency measures were reflected in agency budgets from July 2014. The HSE undertook an evaluation of the impact of this reduction on voluntary agencies and decided that it would not be prudent to apply the full reduction in 2015, so only 50% will be applied again this year.
The HSE is currently in discussion with all voluntary health service providers regarding funding and service arrangements for 2015.
As the other issues raised in the Deputy's questions relate to service matters, I have arranged for the questions to be referred to the HSE for direct reply to the Deputy. If the Deputy has not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days, he can contact my Private Office and they will follow the matter up with the HSE.
