Vol. 563 No. 4
504 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Health and Children the cost implications there will be for service providers who implement the proposed national standards for disability services; if the Government intends to provide some form of assistance to service providers in meeting these new and additional costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8296/03]
The national standards for disability services are in draft form at present. It is hoped a final draft will be available later this year. Not all of the standards will have costs implications. As part of the process of determining where and at what level costs will arise, a national pilot study will take place over the coming months. Until this pilot is undertaken and completed it is not clear what the costs will be.
505 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason the draft national standards for disability services which will apply to disability services for children and adults with autism, intellectual, physical and sensory disability, and funded by his Department will not apparently apply to services for people with psychiatric disabilities, in view of the indictment of those services contained within successive annual reports of the Inspector for Mental Hospitals, the recent Amnesty report on conditions for people with psychiatric problems in Ireland and the recent Irish Psychiatric Association survey of psychiatric services. [8297/03]
The National Disability Authority, in consultation with the appropriate Departments and other statutory bodies, intends to develop a range of standards for services for people with disabilities, including mental health services. As the Mental Health Commission, which also has a specific function in relation to standards in mental health services, has only recently been established the authority decided to proceed in the first instance to develop standards for people with autism, intellectual, physical and sensory disability.
