Vol. 477 No. 5
95 Mr. S. Brennan asked the Minister for Health his views on whether substantial additional funding is required for mental handicap services; whether 30 per cent of the funding is given to the general Dublin area which has 55 per cent of the waiting lists for mental handicap services; the plans, if any, he has to adjust this disproportionate allocation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9522/97]
Additional funding amounting to £12 million has been made available for the further development in 1997 of services to persons with a mental handicap. Two million pounds is being used to meet identified needs in existing services. The remaining £10 million is being used to provide additional residential-respite places and day care places, to improve services for persons with autism and to continue the ongoing programme to transfer persons with a mental handicap from inappropriate placements to more appropriate care settings.
In allocating the additional funding which has been provided in 1997 to the various health board regions for the provision of new residential-respite and day care places, the primary factor which was taken into account were the needs which have been identified by the National Intellectual Disability Database. The allocation of 33 per cent to the Eastern Health Board region from the £7.5 million provided for new residential and day care services was in line with the needs indicated by the database and the demographic trends for the region.
