The Report of the Value for Money (VFM) and Policy Review of the Disability Services Programme recommends a significant restructuring of the Disability Services Programme through:
- migration from an approach which is predominantly organised around group-based service delivery, towards a model of person-centred, individually chosen supports, underpinned by a system of individualised budgeting; and
- implementation of a more effective method of assessing need, allocating resources and monitoring resource use.
Extensive public consultations were undertaken as part of the VFM Review. The initial consultation on the efficiency and effectiveness of the disability services confirmed that people with disabilities and their families were looking for more choice in the services they receive and more control over how they access them. This consultation provided an input into the work of the Expert Reference Group on Disability Policy, which was established to advise the VFM Steering Group. The Report of the Expert Reference Group was released for public consultation: respondents strongly supported the proposed policy vision and goals, and were keen to see the service focus more directly on the individual needs of people with disabilities.
Research was commissioned for the VFM Review from the National Disability Authority (NDA) on specialist disability services in six jurisdictions which are generally regarded as models of innovation and good practice – England, Scotland, the Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand and the State of Victoria (Australia). This research, which is available on the NDA website (www.nda.ie), informed the Advice Paper provided by the NDA to the Steering Group. The Expert Reference Group were also assisted in their deliberations by relevant international research findings.
The Department of Health and the Health Service Executive will pursue the issue of individualised funding in the context of the implementation of the recommendations contained in the VFM Report. The priority is to further improve current services, while expediting the analysis of the benefits to be gained from newer models of individualised supports through demonstration projects which will be evaluated for wider applicability. The balance and emphasis will shift firmly and comprehensively towards these new models of individualised supports once sufficient analysis of the benefits is carried out in the Irish context and adequate financial management, resource allocation and governance structures are in place to ensure their long-term viability.
