Funding for Persons with Disabilities: Motion [Private Members]
Dail Éireann — 2023-10-17
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Roderic O'Gorman (GP), Dublin West

I move 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.".
I welcome the opportunity to speak on this issue this evening. I particularly welcome the organisations and service users who are here to Leinster House tonight.
This Government is committed to providing services and supports for people with disabilities that will empower them to live independent lives, provide greater independence in accessing the services they choose and enhance their ability to tailor the supports required to meet their individual needs. Ultimately, our aim is to provide supports and services that will allow people with disabilities to live ordinary lives in ordinary places in line with commitments contained in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD.
I welcome the opportunity to restate my priority and that of the Government for 2024, which is the enhancement of person-centred supports and services, supporting the progressive roll-out of the action plan for disability services and the implementation of the roadmap for children’s disability services. However, before I proceed, I will briefly update the House on the outcome of the pay talks that concluded last night.
The sustainability and stability of the health and social care sectors and the impact of industrial action on essential services are areas of significant concern for me and the Government. That is why I am particularly pleased to be able to inform the House that, following intense negotiations between officials and trade unions under the auspices of the Workplace Relations Commission, agreement on a pay deal was reached in the early hours of this morning. This positive development has meant that industrial action due to commence today has been postponed while members consider the deal that was negotiated. I know people with disabilities and their families and all of those who avail of services provided by section 39 and section 56 bodies will have been relieved to hear that news this morning. We discussed this issue at some length in the House last Thursday and the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and I reiterated our commitment to find a resolution to this issue, first, because of the serious impact that industrial action would have had on service users, second, because we recognised that a long-running pay disparity existed and needed to be addressed and, third, because we know the staff in these organisations did not want to impact on service users. We welcome this agreement and the additional funding that will flow from it to improve the sustainability of many of the organisations providing services in the spheres of health and disability and the wider sphere of social care.
In recent years, significant resources have been invested in disability services and there have been significant increases in this area. This is reflected in increases in the budget for disability services, a budget which has increased from €1.7 billion at the close of 2017 to just under €2.8 billion in 2024. This year’s current funding allocation sees an additional €195 million for disability services. This demonstrates the Government’s commitment to building capacity in this area. That is alongside a capital allocation of €23 million.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2023-10-17/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:52:17+00:00
Sitting date: 2023-10-17