Funding for Persons with Disabilities: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members]

The following motion was moved by Deputy Pauline Tully on Tuesday, 17 October 2023:

That Dáil Éireann:

condemns the Government's Budget for 2024 which, like previous Budgets, falls far short of what is required for disability services, meaning that children will continue to wait too long for, and go without, the assessments and therapies they need, while young people with disabilities will remain inappropriately placed in nursing homes, and carers will continue to burnout without respite;

notes that:

— the Disability Capacity Review to 2032: A Review of Disability Social Care Demand and Capacity Requirements up to 2032 was published in July 2021 and it estimated the level of residential services, day services, personal assistance and home supports, respite services, therapies and community services required up to 2032;

— the estimates for personal assistance and the proposed funding allocations were roundly criticised by disabled persons organisations as inadequate to truly support independent living;

— more than two years after its publication, the Government have yet to publish a costed action plan to implement the findings of the capacity review; and

— the Government's mental health policies, Sharing the Vision: A Mental Health Policy for Everyone and A Vision for Change, indicate a need for 16 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Intellectual Disability Teams comprising 176 staff yet only four teams are in place;

further notes that:

— the Government have yet to agree a sustainable funding model for section 39 organisations, which provide essential core services for people with disabilities on behalf of the Health Service Executive;

— disability service providers are facing severe cost pressures which have not been addressed on a sustainable basis and which were only temporarily addressed by a non-recurring subsidy in 2023; and

— the Government have yet to ratify the Optional Protocol of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, despite commitments by Government parties to do so and previous motions agreed by Dáil Éireann calling on the Government to do so; and

calls on the Government to:

— guarantee that the one-off payments provided to assist disability service providers to cover the ongoing high cost of delivering existing services in 2023 will be repeated for 2024;

— address the recruitment and retention crisis in disability services by making a better offer to trade unions and allocating the funding necessary to achieve pay parity for workers in section 39 organisations;

— revise the budgetary provisions for disability services so that new monies available for improvements amount to at least €155 million next year and separately to ensure that the costs of disability and of running disability services are properly provided for; and

— publish a fully costed disability action plan which meets the needs of people with disabilities, including existing unmet needs and expected future needs, and which places disability services on a sustainable footing.

Debate resumed on amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "That Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

"notes that:

— this Government is committed to expanding services for people with disabilities and developing a more integrated and person-centred policy approach to disability services;

— this commitment is reflected in the budget for disability services which has increased in recent years from €1.7 billion at the close of 2017 to close to €2.8 billion in 2024;

— an additional €195 million will be invested in specialist disability services for 2024, bringing total investment to €2.8 billion;

— funding of €131 million is being allocated to ensure that the full year cost of additional services provided this year is met and funding of €64 million will provide greater investment in a range of new development measures across a range of disability services;

— while once off inflationary funding provided in Budget 2023 was not repeated in Budget 2024, the existing levels of service provision for disability services did take account of increased cost of service provision;

— the Disability Action Plan 2024 – 2026 was approved by Government in July of this year and is currently being prepared for publication and aims to progressively address unmet needs by enhancing and reforming services; and a total of €56 million in additional funding has been allocated to the implementation of Action Plan measures in 2024;

— specifically:

— €20.5 million in extra funding for disability residential services for adults and children to deliver approximately 100 new residential places;

— €10 million in respite services to build on existing provision, to provide more alternative respite such as in homes, after-school and deliver new or enhanced services to families;

— €18.2 million for placements in adult day services for 1,250-1,400 young people leaving school in 2024 and €23.7 million in funding to provide for the full cost of school leavers in 2023; and

— €2 million additional funding in personal assistant services to promote independent living, delivering around 80,000 additional hours, continued investment in home support services, and €1.4 million for specialist community supports for people with neurological impairments;

— the Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People (PDS) Roadmap will be published later this month and aims to achieve a quality, accessible, equitable and timely service for children with complex needs and their families;

— the PDS Roadmap will include a range of measures to enhance the recruitment and retention of staff to Children's Network Disability Teams (CDNTs);

— the Health Service Executive and its partner agencies are providing services for over 45,740 children at this time, across 91 CDNTs; and 1,300 experienced and deeply committed health and social care professionals and administrative staff across the country are working in partnership with these children and their families;

— in Budget 2024, an additional €8.5 million was provided to improve children's services, including the recruitment of additional therapy positions to bolster CDNTs (175), increasing third level places to develop additional capacity and targeted supports for specialist children's disability services;

— in addition, Capital investment of €23.7 million will provide for the upgrade and development of disability services;

— a dedicated budget in 2024 will also support a range of measures designed to further advance and implement the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), including the development and implementation of a new ambitious National Disability Strategy and an Autism Innovation Strategy;

— there will be a further call for funding under the Disability Participation and Awareness Fund in 2024 which will support projects across the country that will assist disabled people to participate in local and community life; and this will also include ring-fenced support for disabled persons organisations; and

— funding will be continued for employment supports for persons with disabilities through the Towards Work and Employers for Change Initiatives;

also notes that:

— additional investment in broader disability measures across Government was provided for in Estimates 2024;

— this includes employment-related supports, with a reduction in the minimum weekly hours' threshold for eligibility for the Wage Subsidy Scheme from 21 hours to 15 hours, which will help support people with disabilities into employment;

— an increase in the Carer's Allowance income disregard to €450 for a single person and €900 for a couple;

— people receiving Invalidity Pension, Disability Allowance or Blind Pension will also benefit from a once off payment of €400 in November 2023;

— a Christmas Bonus double payment to all persons getting a long-term disability payment;

— from January 2024 there will be an increase of €12 in maximum personal rate of weekly disability payments; and there will be proportionate increases for people getting a reduced rate;

— a cost of living bonus for people getting a weekly social welfare payment, to be paid in January 2024;

— Domiciliary Care Allowance to increase by €10 a month from January 2024; and

— additional funds are being allocated to the provision of free travel for people medically certified unfit to drive; and

further notes:

— the sustainability and stability of health and social care sectors and the impact of industrial action on essential services is a concern for Government; and section 39 organisations have seen overall disability funding increase from €531 million in 2018 to approximately €707 million in 2023;

— that the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and the Department of Health, following intensive talks under the auspices of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), have reached a pay agreement with unions representing section 39 and section 56 employees;

— that this agreement has resulted in the postponement of industrial action by staff working in section 39 and section 56 organisations as they consider the pay deal proposed; and

— that the Programme for Government: Our Shared Future contains a commitment to ratify the Optional Protocol after the first reporting cycle under the UNCRPD has concluded; the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is currently working to scope out the requirements for earlier ratification; this scoping work is required due to the long-standing position of the State in relation to honouring international agreements; and it is a priority for Government to ensure that the Optional Protocol is ratified at the earliest possible date.".

-(Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth)

An Ceann Comhairle

I must now deal with a postponed division relating to the motion on funding for persons with disabilities. On Tuesday, 17 October 2023, on the question, "That the amendment to the motion be agreed to", a division was claimed and in accordance with Standing Order 80(2), that division must be taken now.

Amendment put:

The Dáil divided: Tá, 72; Níl, 63; Staon, 0.

Tá

Bruton, Richard.
Burke, Colm.
Burke, Peter.
Butler, Mary.
Byrne, Thomas.
Cahill, Jackie.
Calleary, Dara.
Cannon, Ciarán.
Carroll MacNeill, Jennifer.
Chambers, Jack.
Collins, Niall.
Costello, Patrick.
Cowen, Barry.
Creed, Michael.
Crowe, Cathal.
Devlin, Cormac.
Dillon, Alan.
Donnelly, Stephen.
Donohoe, Paschal.
Duffy, Francis Noel.
Durkan, Bernard J.
English, Damien.
Farrell, Alan.
Feighan, Frankie.
Flaherty, Joe.
Flanagan, Charles.
Fleming, Sean.
Foley, Norma.
Griffin, Brendan.
Harris, Simon.
Haughey, Seán.
Heydon, Martin.
Higgins, Emer.
Humphreys, Heather.
Kehoe, Paul.
Lahart, John.
Lawless, James.
Leddin, Brian.
MacSharry, Marc.
Madigan, Josepha.
Martin, Catherine.
Martin, Micheál.
Matthews, Steven.
McAuliffe, Paul.
McConalogue, Charlie.
McGrath, Michael.
Moynihan, Aindrias.
Moynihan, Michael.
Murnane O'Connor, Jennifer.
Naughton, Hildegarde.
Noonan, Malcolm.
O'Brien, Joe.
O'Callaghan, Jim.
O'Dea, Willie.
O'Donnell, Kieran.
O'Donovan, Patrick.
O'Gorman, Roderic.
O'Sullivan, Christopher.
O'Sullivan, Pádraig.
Ó Cathasaigh, Marc.
Ó Cuív, Éamon.
Phelan, John Paul.
Rabbitte, Anne.
Richmond, Neale.
Ring, Michael.
Ryan, Eamon.
Smith, Brendan.
Smyth, Niamh.
Smyth, Ossian.
Stanton, David.
Troy, Robert.
Varadkar, Leo.

Níl

Andrews, Chris.
Bacik, Ivana.
Barry, Mick.
Boyd Barrett, Richard.
Brady, John.
Browne, Martin.
Buckley, Pat.
Cairns, Holly.
Canney, Seán.
Carthy, Matt.
Clarke, Sorca.
Collins, Joan.
Collins, Michael.
Connolly, Catherine.
Conway-Walsh, Rose.
Cronin, Réada.
Crowe, Seán.
Cullinane, David.
Daly, Pa.
Doherty, Pearse.
Donnelly, Paul.
Farrell, Mairéad.
Fitzmaurice, Michael.
Funchion, Kathleen.
Gannon, Gary.
Grealish, Noel.
Guirke, Johnny.
Harkin, Marian.
Healy-Rae, Danny.
Healy-Rae, Michael.
Howlin, Brendan.
Kelly, Alan.
Kenny, Gino.
Kenny, Martin.
Kerrane, Claire.
Lowry, Michael.
Mac Lochlainn, Pádraig.
McDonald, Mary Lou.
McGrath, Mattie.
McNamara, Michael.
Mitchell, Denise.
Munster, Imelda.
Murphy, Catherine.
Murphy, Paul.
Mythen, Johnny.
Nash, Ged.
O'Callaghan, Cian.
O'Reilly, Louise.
O'Rourke, Darren.
Ó Broin, Eoin.
Ó Murchú, Ruairí.
Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
Pringle, Thomas.
Quinlivan, Maurice.
Shanahan, Matt.
Sherlock, Sean.
Shortall, Róisín.
Smith, Duncan.
Stanley, Brian.
Tully, Pauline.
Ward, Mark.
Whitmore, Jennifer.
Wynne, Violet-Anne.

Staon

Tellers: Tá, Deputies Hildegarde Naughton and Cormac Devlin; Níl, Deputies Pádraig Mac Lochlainn and Denise Mitchell.

Amendment declared carried.

Question put: "That the motion, as amended, be agreed to."

The Dáil divided: Tá, 72; Níl, 62; Staon, 0.

Tá

Bruton, Richard.
Burke, Colm.
Burke, Peter.
Butler, Mary.
Byrne, Thomas.
Cahill, Jackie.
Calleary, Dara.
Cannon, Ciarán.
Carroll MacNeill, Jennifer.
Chambers, Jack.
Collins, Niall.
Costello, Patrick.
Cowen, Barry.
Creed, Michael.
Crowe, Cathal.
Devlin, Cormac.
Dillon, Alan.
Donnelly, Stephen.
Donohoe, Paschal.
Duffy, Francis Noel.
Durkan, Bernard J.
English, Damien.
Farrell, Alan.
Feighan, Frankie.
Flaherty, Joe.
Flanagan, Charles.
Fleming, Sean.
Foley, Norma.
Griffin, Brendan.
Harris, Simon.
Haughey, Seán.
Heydon, Martin.
Higgins, Emer.
Humphreys, Heather.
Kehoe, Paul.
Lahart, John.
Lawless, James.
Leddin, Brian.
MacSharry, Marc.
Madigan, Josepha.
Martin, Catherine.
Martin, Micheál.
Matthews, Steven.
McAuliffe, Paul.
McConalogue, Charlie.
McGrath, Michael.
Moynihan, Aindrias.
Moynihan, Michael.
Murnane O'Connor, Jennifer.
Naughton, Hildegarde.
Noonan, Malcolm.
O'Brien, Joe.
O'Callaghan, Jim.
O'Dea, Willie.
O'Donnell, Kieran.
O'Donovan, Patrick.
O'Gorman, Roderic.
O'Sullivan, Christopher.
O'Sullivan, Pádraig.
Ó Cathasaigh, Marc.
Ó Cuív, Éamon.
Phelan, John Paul.
Rabbitte, Anne.
Richmond, Neale.
Ring, Michael.
Ryan, Eamon.
Smith, Brendan.
Smyth, Niamh.
Smyth, Ossian.
Stanton, David.
Troy, Robert.
Varadkar, Leo.

Níl

Andrews, Chris.
Bacik, Ivana.
Barry, Mick.
Boyd Barrett, Richard.
Brady, John.
Browne, Martin.
Buckley, Pat.
Cairns, Holly.
Canney, Seán.
Carthy, Matt.
Clarke, Sorca.
Collins, Joan.
Collins, Michael.
Connolly, Catherine.
Conway-Walsh, Rose.
Cronin, Réada.
Crowe, Seán.
Cullinane, David.
Daly, Pa.
Doherty, Pearse.
Donnelly, Paul.
Farrell, Mairéad.
Fitzmaurice, Michael.
Funchion, Kathleen.
Gannon, Gary.
Guirke, Johnny.
Harkin, Marian.
Healy-Rae, Danny.
Healy-Rae, Michael.
Howlin, Brendan.
Kelly, Alan.
Kenny, Gino.
Kenny, Martin.
Kerrane, Claire.
Lowry, Michael.
Mac Lochlainn, Pádraig.
McDonald, Mary Lou.
McGrath, Mattie.
McNamara, Michael.
Mitchell, Denise.
Munster, Imelda.
Murphy, Catherine.
Murphy, Paul.
Mythen, Johnny.
Nash, Ged.
O'Callaghan, Cian.
O'Reilly, Louise.
O'Rourke, Darren.
Ó Broin, Eoin.
Ó Murchú, Ruairí.
Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
Pringle, Thomas.
Quinlivan, Maurice.
Shanahan, Matt.
Sherlock, Sean.
Shortall, Róisín.
Smith, Duncan.
Stanley, Brian.
Tully, Pauline.
Ward, Mark.
Whitmore, Jennifer.
Wynne, Violet-Anne.

Staon

Tellers: Tá, Deputies Hildegarde Naughton and Cormac Devlin; Níl, Deputies Pádraig Mac Lochlainn and Denise Mitchell.

Question declared carried.

Dáil Éireann díospóireacht - Wednesday, 18 Oct 2023