Jim Higgins
Question:11 Mr. Higgins (Mayo) asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason for the delay in establishing a fund for the provision of permanent personal assistance services. [28053/00]
Other Questions. - Personal Assistance Service.
Dan Neville
Question:76 Mr. Neville asked the Minister for Health and Children if his attention has been drawn to the pre-budget submission of an organisation (details supplied) in County Sligo; his views on their objectives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28944/00]
Michael Ring
Question:154 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Health and Children the plans he has to ensure that a substantial portion of the funds allocated to the physical and sensory disability sector will be specifically designated for personal assistance services. [29116/00]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 11, 76 and 154 together.
I refer Deputies to my comprehensive reply to a number of parliamentary questions on this matter on 7 November 2000. On that occasion I outlined the definition of a personal assistance service and how the service is currently being provided.
I also explained that the position in the provision of health related services generally to people with physical and sensory disabilities is the responsibility of the Eastern Regional Health Authority and the health boards in the first instance and that all additional funding made available for the development of such services is provided to the authority and the health boards to allocate on a priority basis, in consultation with their regional co-ordinating committees for physical and sensory disability services. Voluntary sector service providers, including Centres for Independent Living and consumers of the service are represented on these committees.
As I explained in my previous reply, the independent living fund is no more than a particular model for funding a personal assistance service. The important thing is that the service itself be provided to those needing it. The personal assistance service is one of a range of support services designed to enable people with disabilities to live in the community with the maximum degree of independence possible for each individual. The range includes home helps, home care attendants, respite care, day care and so on. The provision of a service is most appropriately based on the individual's needs, which may not always be best met by a personal assistance service. The objective of policy is to develop the range of services as a whole in accordance with the amount of funding allocated for the development of services for people with physical and sensory disabilities and having particular regard to the desirability of taking an equitable approach in addressing the needs of all people with disability who require various levels of support. The amount allocated by an individual health board in any year is decided in the context of local needs and in consultation with the regional co-ordinating committee for physical and sensory disability services.
As announced in yesterday's budget, additional development funding of £12 million, with a full year cost of £24 million, has been allocated for the development of health related support ser vices for people with physical and sensory disabilities. Of this, £5 million with a full year cost of £10 million has been identified for the development of home support services, including £2.5 million with a full year cost of £6 million for personal assistance services.
I have made it clear and will make it clear to the health boards that 50% of what they will get under that heading is to be ring fenced for personal assistance services. We envisage providing at least 312 additional personal assistants to provide a service to approximately 230 clients. Including the £10.5 million already invested in these services since 1997, a total of £20.5 million ongoing funding is being made available for the home support services, including personal assistance services. We are very committed to providing a complete service here and I look forward, for the first time, to significant ring-fencing of the money because there have always been arguments as to what happens to the money once it is sent out. This time we have made clear, as the money is sent out, what amount is to be allocated to providing a personal assistance service.
I am glad to hear this welcome news, as ring-fencing of the money is what this sector has been seeking for years. The Minister has allocated money in the past but the health boards did not ring fence it and used it in an ad hoc manner. Is there any hope of putting this on an independent, statutory basis so that from now on, any funding will be independently distributed? That funding could be increased in each year's budget. We would all support the Minister in this matter as personal assistance is a lifeline to these people. It is the one thing for which they have been asking over the years – that funding for personal assistance be ring-fenced and put on a statutory basis. The Minister can instruct the health boards with regard to these things. He should send a directive to the health boards so that these people can be looked after.
There is no need to put this on a statutory basis because we are concentrating on using the health boards and agencies as a funding agency for a range of services in given health board regions. We envisage the health boards engaging in service contracts with a variety of organisations such as the Irish Wheelchair Organisation, the Centre for Independent Living and so on. I have met the Centres for Independent Living and they do not have a difficulty with the funding coming through the health boards. They want dedicated funding and for that funding to get to the service they require. That is what we are now doing and we will build on it.
We are also talking to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, which administers the community employment schemes that fund many of the Centres for Independent Living. The hope is that those discussions will enable us to mainstream that scheme under the Department of Health and Children to give permanency to it, topping up the rates on a par with what is being paid in the ERHA area. Then we would have a good model for the continuing, consistent provision of personal assistance. The FÁS option was very good and filled the breach but it created certain uncertainties in terms of continuity of personnel.
The FÁS schemes were not the answer because they were temporary in nature. It is right that this should be put on a statutory full-time basis and to ring-fence the money for it. The Minister will have met a man from my county, Michael Corbett, and I pay tribute to his wonderful work in this area. He has been pushing this for years, particularly ring-fencing of the money, and he will be happy today. I ask the Minister to go a step further and put this on a statutory basis. He may not be able to do so with this budget but perhaps with the next.
The person the Deputy referred to made a very good submission and has been fighting this campaign for a long time. I was extremely impressed with the quality of the submission and the fact that to a large extent such people require personal assistants to live independent, full lives. They are making a significant contribution to the economy as well in terms of their own work and so forth. The model we are now developing is one that has been agreed all round and is one the Minister of State with responsibility for this area, Deputy Mary Wallace, has been advocating for some time.
Ceist Uimhir a 12.
This question is identical to Priority Question No. 5.
We will move to Question No. 13.