I am aware that Parkinson’s Ireland (PI) has made an application for new funding under section 39 Grant Aid and Service Arrangement process to the HSE and I wish to confirm that the Department of Health does not have a role in relation to PI’s funding application.
The HSE has confirmed that its Disability Services are the point of contact for such funding proposals and that the HSE funds a range of community services and supports to enable each individual with a disability, including persons with Parkinson's disease, to achieve their full potential and maximise independence, including living as independently as possible. It is a matter for HSE in the first instance, to consider the application having regard to the annual estimates process and its overall budgetary envelope.
The HSE has advised that Community Healthcare Organisation (CHO) 2 Primary Care supported a local initiative with PI with €70,000 in funding to provide a level of Physiotherapy and other supports in counties Galway and Mayo. This was a discrete initiative funded at the local level via the CHO's own funding allocation. It has further advised that PI approached the HSE with a number of business cases to seek funding for the development of services in the other eight CHOs similar to that in CHO 2.
The HSE has been considering the most appropriate way to oversee this type of development, which relates to the overall National Strategy and Policy for the Provision of Neuro-Rehabilitation Services in Ireland and associated priorities, which falls within the remit of DCEDIY and HSE Disability Services, whilst also recognising the essential input from acute and primary care services as part of an integrated services approach to both funding and delivery, consistent with the Neuro-Rehabilitation Strategy.
My Department will work in a collaborative way with DCEDIY to promote such an integrated approach to service delivery for people with Parkinson’s.
