Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 4 Nov 1998

Vol. 496 No. 1

Written Answers. - Services for People with Disabilities.

Frances Fitzgerald

Ceist:

170 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Health and Children if he has satisfied himself with the levels of respite care available to parents who have children with a severe physical and mental disability who reside in the Eastern Health Board area. [22012/98]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Cowen)

The report of the review group on Health and Personal Services for People with Physical and Sensory Disabilities, Towards an Independent Future, published in December 1996 sets out the requirements for the development of services, including respite care services. As recommended in the report, regional co-ordinating committees for services for people with physical and sensory disabilities have been put in place in each of the health boards. One of the primary functions of the co-ordinating committees is to advise the chief executive officer of each health board on priorities for the allocation of funds available for the development of services. An allocation of £3 million has been provided in the budget for these services in 1998. Of this, £1.08 million has been allocated to the Eastern Health Board, to which £200,000 has been allocated by the board to respite care in the physical and sensory disability sector. The total allocation of additional funds to physical and sensory disability services in 1998, is £8.4 million when the Estimates provision and capital allocation are taken into account. When account is taken of the additional £10 million I made available for these services in late 1997, it will be noted that I have made available additional funding of £18.4 million for these services in the last 12 months. This compares with £3,695 million allocated under the previous administration in 1997.

My Department's Assessment of Need for Services for Persons with a Mental Handicap 1997-2001, which is based on information from the national intellectual disability database, provides information on the current and future needs of persons with a mental handicap. That assessment identified a requirement for 1,439 new residential/respite places and 1,036 new day places during the period 1997-2001. It is estimated that the revenue cost of providing the required services will be in the region of £63.5 million over the period. The Government's commitment to meeting this cost is clearly set out in An Action Programme for the Millennium. I have also put in place a major £30 million four year national capital programme, commencing this year, to provide the volume and quality of facilities required to provide these new services, including respite services, and which will run in tandem with the implementation of the needs outlined in the Assessment of Need. I recently provided further capital funding of £5 million on top of the £30 million national capital programme. This allocation brings the amount of additional funding allocated by me in the last 12 months to £25 million This compares with £12 million allocated under the previous administration in 1997, the first year of the Assessment of Need.

In respect of respite services to persons with a mental handicap in the eastern region, I understand from the Eastern Health Board that 770 people availed of respite care in 1997 and that since 1991 around 200 additional respite places have been provided throughout the Eastern Health Board region. The precise services to be developed in the eastern region is based on the priorities which have been identified by the central mental handicap planning committee. I am satisfied that this funding will significantly advance the progress which is being made in developing the services as outlined in An Action Programme for the Millennium.