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Disability Services Funding

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 July 2020

Tuesday, 14 July 2020

Questions (1113)

Róisín Shortall

Question:

1113. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health when a letter will be issued to disability service providers to confirm that the 1% cut earmarked in the 2020 HSE service plan no longer applies further to comments made by his predecessor in Dáil Éireann on 11 June 2020 in respect of funding for disability service providers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15203/20]

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Written answers

As the Deputy will be aware, the Government has agreed to allocate substantial additional funding to the Health Vote to meet the costs associated with the implementation of the measures outlined in the National Action Plan in response to COVID-19.

In this context, the HSE Executive Management Team has agreed a structured approach to addressing the financial challenges of Section 39 Agencies due to COVID-19. This includes many organisations who provide specialist disability services to both adults and children.

The objective of the programme is to provide a structured governance process and modus operandi through which Section 39 partners experiencing financial difficulties due to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) can engage through the HSE to ensure, where appropriate, continuity of essential services provided by these agencies. The HSE has also developed a methodology to provide a pro forma approach to support decision making in respect of Section 39 Organisations that have made submissions to the HSE for both financial & non-financial supports during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Furthermore, the HSE has advised the Department that it has given Section 38 and Section 39 providers of disability services and supports assurance that budget allocations confirmed to each provider via the relevant Community Healthcare Organisation, will remain in place to year end, subject to co-operation with the HSE and compliance with the relevant Service Arrangements.

The HSE and all of the providers it funds are expected to continually review their cost structures to ensure the best use of resources and a focus on the use of these resources for client care to the greatest extent possible. The very significant additional financial resources provided to disability services over the last year, together with the achievement of relatively modest efficiency savings, form part of the financing of the increased service levels set out in the National Service Plan 2020. It was intended that these efficiencies would be achieved in 2020 through the application of a 1% efficiency target to existing budgets across all service areas.

My Department supports the HSE in seeking efficiencies across all its spending areas. However, it is acknowledged that there will be challenges in achieving the 1% efficiency saving given the significant pressures on the disability sector in the context of COVID-19.

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