Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 November 2015
369. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Health how his Department and the Health Service Executive forward-plans the provision of services for children with special needs such as autism; and how his Department shares the necessary information to facilitate the Department of Education and Skills and other Departments in forward-planning to meet the needs of these children. [39083/15]
View answerSpecialist Disability services are provided by or on behalf of the Health Service Executive ( HSE) to enable children with a disability, including those with autism, to achieve their full potential and maximise independence, including living as independently as possible in the community. Disability services are provided in a variety of community and residential settings in partnership with service users, their families and carers and a range of statutory, non-statutory, voluntary and community groups. Voluntary agencies provide the majority of services in partnership with or on behalf of the HSE.
The Health Service Executive has recognised the need to increase the level of consistency and standardisation in the way both early intervention services and services for school-aged children with disabilities, including autism, are delivered.
The HSE is currently engaged in a major reconfiguration of its existing therapy resources for children with disabilities into multi-disciplinary geographically based teams, as part of its National Programme on Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People (0-18 years).
The key objective of this Programme is to bring about equity of access to disability services and consistency of service delivery, with a clear pathway for children with disabilities and their families to services, regardless of where they live, what school they go to or the nature of the individual child’s difficulties (with effective service teams working in partnership with parents and the Education sector to support children in achieving their potential). The implementation of the Programme has been supported not only by my Department but also by the Department of Education and Skills and the education sector.
An additional €4m was allocated in 2014 to assist in implementing the Progressing Disability Services Programme, equating to approximately 80 additional therapy posts. Further investment of €4 million (equating to €6 million in a full year) has been provided this year to support its ongoing implementation. Improving access to therapy services for children in primary care and in disability services is a particular priority for the Government. Within this context, funding is being provided in 2016 to support, inter alia, the implementation of the Progressing Disability Services Programme.
The Progressing Disabilities Services Programme is a key part of the implementation of the Value for Money (VFM) and Policy Review of Disability Services in Ireland, which emphasised the importance of the collection and analysis of information to underpin the planning, monitoring and delivery of services to children and adults with disabilities. Working Groups established to progress the implementation of the recommendations in the Review are addressing relevant issues including the development of an information framework to support service planning, the development of a quality and outcome measurement framework, and the assessment of future need. These measures will support planning for the provision of person-centred supports and services for children and adults with disabilities.
Finally, while the planning and provision of services in the education sector, referred to by the Deputy, is a matter for the Department of Education and Skills and bodies such as the National Council for Special Education, intersectoral collaboration at national level on children's disability issues is facilitated by a Cross Sectoral Team structure comprising representatives of the Departments of Health, Education and Skills and Children and Youth Affairs and of the HSE and other agencies that is in place.
