Statement by Minister Rabbitte at the Department of Health Budget 2023 Press Briefing

Check against delivery

I’m delighted to speak with you today to reflect on the further increases in the Budget for disability services in 2023.

This follows significant increases in the budget in 2021 and 2022 and marks a real consolidation in the funding provided for the sector.

I’m delighted to detail a combined package of €177 million in additional funding to the specialist disability services for 2023. In addition, Section 39 organisations in disability services as well as other nursing homes, hospices and other Section 39 organisations will be eligible to receive once off additional support from within the overall Health sector fund targeted at these providers of €100 million.

Funding is being provided:

• €109 million is being provided to support existing levels of service, or ELS, which takes into account demographics, changing need and pay awards as well as some funding towards non-pay inflation factors. I will return to the latter in a moment
• funding for new developments will total €29.3 million
• once off funding is being provided for costs associated with activity during COVID-19 amounting to €39 million

The increases over the period of 2021 to 2023 are testament to the government’s commitment to increasing and sustaining the increase in funding to disability services.

I want to acknowledge that in taking a strategic view of the areas to be funded from within the budget allocated to me, it was, among other things, informed by the significant work that informed the draft Action Plan for Disability Services.

S.39 Fund

I am delighted that Section 39 organisations in disability services as well as other nursing homes, hospices and other Section 39 organisations will be eligible to receive once off additional support from within the overall Health sector fund targeted at these providers of €100 million which Minister McGrath announced yesterday in Budget 2023.

This fund is being allocated this Winter by Government to support these organisations who provide essential health services in the context of the significant challenges which they are facing currently.

Given the size of the disability budget, I would anticipate the S39s providers in the disability sector will get a very significant share of the overall €100 million once off fund. I would also envisage that the support to individual organisations would broadly be determined with reference to the current value of each

organisation’s service level arrangement with the HSE.

The precise details are still being worked out by my officials but my objective here is to get the additional once off funding out to these organisations in as quick and administratively straightforward a manner as possible.

Residential places / Tusla

In Budget 2023 I have continued the significant investment from previous two budgets towards the ongoing development of disability residential places.

Many of those in the disability sector will be acutely aware that the Disability Capacity Review had identified a significant level of under-provision of residential care places, with changing demographics adding to the numbers requiring residential care each year

I am also continuing to provide supports to keep people in their homes for as long as possible and out of residential care.

I want to ensure that we maintain focus on improving the response to those with the most urgent need. In this regard, I have also enhanced capacity to assist those children and young people in care or transitioning out of State care, to provide for an appropriate residential setting.

This additional funding also provides for children who are not in State care but who fall within the remit of both Tusla and the HSE. The HSE and Tusla continue to work in partnership together on this issue and I am keen to support the progress made.

School leavers

• in day services, additional funding in 2023 will support approximately 1,200 people with disabilities who are leaving school to transition into adult day services
• HSE-funded day programmes for people with intellectual disabilities, autism, or complex physical disabilities include a range of centre-based and community-based activities. This range of adult day programmes support people with disabilities during the ordinary weekday
• the focus is on supporting people to participate in the mainstream activities and in the life of their community, in line with their wishes and needs
• day services are a vital support for adult with disabilities to participate in the life of their community and to realise their own ambitions and desires
• since 2015, a very successful process has been in place to assess and arrange placements, and facilitate the smooth transition from school to adult day services for our adult school leavers
• this September, around 1,400 people have commenced in their new day placement, benefitting from the funding I allocated last year for school leavers

Neuro rehab

In line with a Programme for Government commitment, I have also secured funding to continue the roll-out of the Neuro Rehabilitation Strategy. This is an ambitious and important strategy that aims to provide integrated care and quicker access to services for patients who have a rehabilitative need.

The funding secured will provide 2 additional multidisciplinary community Neuro rehabilitation teams, adding to the two that are currently in place in CHO 6 and CHO 7.

These teams will serve patients with complex presentations who do not require inpatient facilities and those who need to transition from hospital to home.

One of the aims of the strategy is to shorten hospital stays and reduce waiting times for assessments and rehabilitation services and I am very please that the HSE are able to continue to develop this model which will benefit many people with a range of conditions and needs.

Digital and assistive technology

I have also secured funding to continue the Disability Awareness and Participation Fund and continue our work with Digital and assistive technologies .

As Ireland continues its journey to full realisation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, action is required at every level of society. These Funds will help us reach people in their communities, improving their opportunities to participate more fully in local and everyday life.

I encourage local authorities across the country to consider what activities, projects and initiatives can be advanced through the Fund and to bring forward proposals and applications. Equally, I would encourage community organisations to explore what can be achieved in partnership with their local authorities.

The funding will also allow us to be at the forefront of innovations in Digital and Assistive Technologies, continuing to being a leader in the global community and working alongside our partners in the World Health Organisation.

Funding for the re-instatement of Therapy Posts to Special Schools

Having listened to the on-going concerns of parents of children with complex needs who attend special schools concerning the need to provide on-site health and social care supports, additional funding was provided by Government for an additional 85 posts in 2021.

However, mindful of this government’s priority to deliver comprehensive on-site health and social supports to all special schools, I am pleased to say that this Budget includes funding which will allow the HSE to commence the process of prioritising the allocation of approximately 136 additional staff such as Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists to these schools to commence as soon as possible.

Assessment of need backlog

As Minister with responsibility for Disability, I remain as determined and committed as the day I took office to ensure the best possible services are provided especially to children and young people. Almost immediately, upon becoming Minister I secured almost €8 million to address the backlog of children and families waiting for assessments of need, built up over a number of years. However, this issue is an evolving one and the number of children still awaiting an assessment is still unacceptably high.

In that regard, I am pleased to announce a further €11.7 million once off funding in this year’s Budget to be provided to the HSE in 2023 to continue the work in significantly reducing the waiting times for children seeking an assessment of need. I have met many families who have had to wait far too long for these services. I am determined to solve this problem as it leads to unacceptable delays in accessing services for children with disabilities.