Written Answers Nos. 502-516
502. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when appropriate supports will be provided to the son of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29173/23]
View answerAs this refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
503. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if his Department has plans to implement a formal agreement to address the pay disparity of Section 39 organisations; if there are plans to conduct a review of the Health Act 2004 in relation to services provided by Section 39 organisations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29180/23]
View answerUnder section 39 of the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) provides financial assistance to organisations by means of a grant for the provision of services similar or supplementary to a service that the HSE may provide.
I acknowledge the hugely important role section 39 organisations and their workers play in our health and social care services. They are essential in providing services to many families and vulnerable people in society. In 2022, the HSE provided in excess of €675m to Section 39 providers for Specialist Disability Services.
These organisations are privately owned and run. Their terms and conditions of employment, once in line with employment legislation, are strictly between private sector employers and their employees. While they are private organisations, we recognise their sustainability, and ability to pay staff, is highly dependent on state funding.
I am aware that organisations funded under Section 39 are experiencing challenges in the recruitment and retention of staff. These challenges are mirrored in many of the caring and public facing professions across the State. The sustainability of the sector who deliver valuable services through their staff on our behalf is a concern for both the Department and the HSE. Similar considerations arise in respect of organisations funded by Tusla under Section 56 of Child and Family Agency Act 2013 and in other sectors across Government.
Notwithstanding that the employees of Section 39 organisation are private sector employees with no employment relationship with the HSE, Tusla or my Department, a process of engagement to examine the pay of workers in community and voluntary organisations was committed to by the Government in October last year and we remain fully committed to the process.
On 17 April, officials from my Department, the HSE, Tusla and the Department of Health met with union representatives under the auspices of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). This engagement sought to understand and explore the scope of the unions claim for pay rises for Community and Voluntary sector workers. A follow up engagement took place at the WRC on 15 May. None of the organisations attending the exploratory talks is the employer of the staff in question. As this is an ongoing facilitated process I am limited in what I can say, however I want to see matters effectively and quickly resolved in the interests of services users and providers.
It is important to note that this is a broader cross-sectoral issue, so individual components cannot be dealt with in isolation.
Unlike the position for capital expenditure, where multi annual commitments are made within the National Development Plan, the Estimates process for current expenditure allocates funding on an annual (single- year) basis and no formal mechanism currently exists to provide funding on a multi-annual basis to providers. However, the Minister notes a commitment by the Health Service Executive to seek to introduce this for disability funding within the HSE Corporate Plan 2021-24 and a discussion paper published by the Department of Public Expenditure in relation to the possible future introduction of multi annual funding for other votes. In this regard, the Minister is open to exploring avenues to consider how multi annual funding might be introduced in the future for disability services.
My colleague the Minister for Health is the sponsor of the Health Acts, so the question of any review of the legislation is primarily a matter for him and his department.
In terms of ongoing engagement, I also want to highlight to role of the Dialogue Forum with Voluntary Organisations was established in 2019 by the then Minister for Health with the aim of building a stronger working relationship between the State and the voluntary healthcare sector for the benefit of patients and service users. The Forum facilitates regular dialogue with the voluntary sector on future policy and strategic developments. The Forum recently developed and agreed a set of Partnership Principles. These provide the foundation for the future relationship between the State and the voluntary sector and demonstrate a shared commitment to strengthening this relationship. The Partnership Principles are available at: www.gov.ie/en/publication/fda1d7-dialogue-forum-with-voluntary-organisations/#key-forum-documents.
504. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he agrees that all Government information must have a version that is accessible for people who may be neurologically different or who are not computer literate to ensure no one is excluded, for example, in relation to making a submission to raise concerns over a local building project; if he will work with local authorities to ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to make a submission; and if will he make a statement on the matter. [29198/23]
View answerI wholeheartedly recognise the importance of ensuring that information is accessible to people with disabilities. Accessibility is an essential prerequisite for supporting the full participation and inclusion of persons with disabilities in our society. It is also a central principle of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to which Ireland is a signatory.
Under the Disability Act 2005, all public bodies are required to ensure that information and services are accessible to persons with disabilities. Each public body is required to appoint an Access Officer in order to provide any reasonable assistance a member of the public may require in terms of accessing services and information.
It is the obligation of all public bodies to promote accessibility within their areas of responsibility. Assistance and guidance to public bodies in this respect is available from the National Disability Authority, which houses the National Centre for Excellence in Universal Design.
I will continue to work closely with colleagues across the public system as we work to generate greater awareness of the importance of accessibility for creating a more equal and inclusive society.
505. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if money granted by Caranua to a survivor of an institution that was to be used only for household goods, but not yet used may still be claimed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29208/23]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that this matter is more appropriate for my Cabinet colleague, the Minister for Education.
506. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of available children's residential places across CHO5 at present; the number of those that are currently filled on a full-time basis; and the various levels of priority in place for children seeking residential placement. [29220/23]
View answerAs this relates to Tusla operational matters, the question has been forwarded to Tusla for direct reply to the Deputy.
507. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of children who are assessed to be a priority one for residential placement across CHO5; the waiting times for those children waiting for residential placement from the time they entered the system; if funding has been given to increasing full-time residential capacity in CHO5; and if so, to provide details. [29221/23]
View answerAs this query relates to service matters, I am referring it to the HSE for direct response to the Deputy.
508. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for a breakdown of the most up-to-date number of children on waiting lists across all of the children's disability network teams, CDNTs in CHO9, in tabular form; the breakdown of children on waiting lists for occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and speech and language therapy across all the CDNTs in CHO9; the most recent date this data was collected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29290/23]
View answerAs this refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
509. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of vacant roles in occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and psychology broken down by discipline in each children's disability network team, CDNT, in CHO1; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29345/23]
View answer510. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of vacant roles in occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and psychology broken down by discipline in each children's disability network team, CDNT, in CHO2; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29346/23]
View answer511. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of vacant roles in occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and psychology broken down by discipline in each children's disability network team, CDNT, in CHO3; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29347/23]
View answer512. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of vacant roles in occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and psychology broken down by discipline in each children's disability network team, CDNT, in CHO4; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29348/23]
View answer513. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of vacant roles in occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and psychology broken down by discipline in each children's disability network team, CDNT, in CHO5; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29349/23]
View answer514. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of vacant roles in occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and psychology broken down by discipline in each children's disability network team, CDNT, in CHO6; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29350/23]
View answer515. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of vacant roles in occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and psychology broken down by discipline in each children's disability network team, CDNT, in CHO7; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29351/23]
View answer516. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of vacant roles in occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and psychology broken down by discipline in each children's disability network team, CDNT, in CHO8; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29352/23]
View answer517. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of vacant roles in occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and psychology broken down by discipline in each children's disability network team, CDNT, in CHO9; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29353/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 509 to 517, inclusive, together.
As this refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
