Léim ar aghaidh chuig an bpríomhábhar
Gnáthamharc

Disability Services Funding

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 November 2020

Tuesday, 3 November 2020

Ceisteanna (113)

Seán Sherlock

Ceist:

113. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Health if he will provide a breakdown of disability funding to Section 39 organisations arising from Budget 2021. [31345/20]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

In the first budget of this Government, my Department has secured €100 million in additional funding to start delivering on the commitments made in the Programme for Government to people with disabilities. The additional investment will increase the total disabilities budget for 2021 to around 2.2 billion, of which €100 million will fund new initiatives targeted at five key areas: children’s services, day services, community supports, residential services, and integration. The HSE's National Service Planning process will determine how these key priorities can be progressed in 2021, within the overall increased envelope of funding for disability services.

As the Deputy will be aware, the majority of specialist disability services in this country are provided by voluntary organisations funded by the HSE under Section 38 and Section 39 of the Health Act 2004. Service Level Agreements are set out between the HSE and the individual organisations, which are agreed between the HSE and the service provider at the start of each year. The specific allocations to HSE funded specialist disability services in 2021 will be determined in the context of the National Service Planning process. Following on from this process, the 2021 budgets for service providers will be a matter for the HSE to agree with individual providers under the relevant service arrangements.

In addition to the investment outlined in Budget 2021, the Strengthening Disability Services Scheme, which Minister Rabbitte and I announced last week, will make €20 million available on a once off basis in the current year to support voluntary disability service providers engaged in the Transforming Lives Reform programme. Details of this programme and information on how service providers can apply are available at https://www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=https://assets.gov.ie/94127/10ffcbd0-b0f7-425c-b8c8-ad27d93e4600.pdf#page=null.

A referred reply was forwarded to the Deputy under Standing Order 51

Barr
Roinn