Dáil Éireann

DÁIL ÉIREANN AN COMHCHOISTE UM NITHE A BHAINEANN LE MÍCHUMAS JOINT COMMITTEE ON DISABILITY MATTERS Dé Céadaoin, 4 Samhain 2020 Wednesday, 4 November 2020 Tháinig an Comhchoiste le chéile ag 4.30 p.m. The Joint Committee met at 4.30 p.m. Comhaltaí a bhí i láthair / Members present: Teachtaí Dála / Deputies Seanadóirí / Senators Holly Cairns, Ivana Bacik, Seán Canney, Alice-Mary Higgins, Neasa Hourigan, Erin McGreehan, Jennifer Murnane O’Connor, Fiona O’Loughlin, Pauline Tully, Mary Seery Kearney. Violet-Anne Wynne. Teachta / Deputy Michael Moynihan sa Chathaoir / in the Chair. 1 JDM National Disability Inclusion Strategy: Discussion Chairman: I welcome members, and I welcome viewers who are watching proceedings on Oireachtas TV, to the second public session of the newly formed Joint Committee on Disability Matters. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the progress on the national disability inclusion strategy and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD. On behalf of the committee, I extend a warm welcome to the Minister for Children, Equal- ity, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O’Gorman, and the Minister of State with responsibility for disability, Deputy Rabbitte. Witnesses are directed that only evidence connected with the subject matter of these proceedings is to be given. Members are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice to the effect that they should not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the Houses or an official either by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable. I invite the Minister to make his opening statement. Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Deputy Roderic O’Gorman): I thank the committee for the invitation to attend the meeting today, and I look forward to a strong relationship with the committee in my role as Minister. Disability will fall within the new extended remit of my Department. By bringing responsibility for the delivery of disability services from the Department of Health and responsibility for equality policy from the Department of Justice, we are seeking to take a wider view of the lives of people with disabilities based on an understanding that disability is not solely a health matter, but something far more all-encompassing. We are in the process of moving responsibility for service delivery from the Department of Health to my Department. We hope to achieve that fully by the first quarter of 2021. At that point, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and I will be working directly in the same Department. Until then, statutory responsibility for disabilities service delivery remains in the Department of Health. The Government is committed to improving the lives of people with disabilities. The national disability inclusion strategy, NDIS, is our key framework for policy and action in this regard. This takes a whole-of-government approach to improving the lives of people with disabilities and creating the best possible opportunities for people to fulfil their potential. The NDIS steering group oversees implementation of the strategy. The group is chaired by the Min- ister of State and meets quarterly. It includes representatives from Departments, the National Disability Authority and members of the disability stakeholder group. Since the launch of the NDIS in 2017 there has been significant progress across a number of key areas. The most notable achievement was the ratification by the previous Government of the UNCRPD in March 2018. The strategy also includes a range of actions to support people with disabilities to enter and remain in employment, and expanding opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in employment is a key priority for me. There has been progress in other areas as well, such as improvements in transport accessibility, including the reduction of the notice period for DART and train users, and improved accessibility in some train and bus stations. Obviously, more work has to be done in that area. A mid-term review of the NDIS was published earlier this year. It was completed following consultation with disability stakeholders and relevant Departments and agencies. The stakeholders indicated that they wanted to see a focus in the next years on implementing existing 2 4 NOVEMBER 2020 commitments within the strategy. They are particularly interested in those elements that are essential for the implementation of the obligations that arise from our signing and ratification of the convention. As such, advancing those points that are relevant to the ratification of the convention is a key priority. Our approach to meeting the obligations of the convention is one of progressive realisation and each year moving forward on key reforms. As we continue to advance the implementation of the convention, it is vital that the Gov- ernment hears the voice of people with lived experience of disabilities. The experience and perspectives of people with disabilities are essential to enable us to develop policies and pro- grammes that meet their needs most effectively. That is why the Government is funding a disability participation and consultation network as one of the key actions to fulfil our responsibili- ties under the convention. The Minister of State announced that earlier this year. The aim of this network is to provide new opportunities for persons with disabilities to be involved in the development of policies and legislation. One of the network’s first tasks will be to engage with the State’s first report to the UN on our progress in implementing the convention. Following an open competitive process run by my Department, Inclusion Ireland has been selected as the organising member for this new network. Inclusion Ireland will work with four other organisations, the national autism organisation AsIAm, the Disability Federation of Ireland, the Coali- tion of Disabled Persons Organisations and Mental Health Reform. These organisations were selected competitively to act as grant-funded members of the network. There will be a further selection process for individuals or organisations to be involved in the network. A consultation process will shortly be launched on the State report that Ireland will submit to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It is the Government’s in- tention, as indicated in the programme for Government, to ratify the optional protocol to the convention once the first reporting cycle has been completed. Another important step towards the full realisation of the commitments in the convention will be to commence the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act 2015, enact the disability (miscellaneous provisions) Bill and enable the decision support service to become fully operational. I secured an increase in the budget for the decision support service of €2 million, bringing its budget up to €5.8 million. We want to see effective structures which allow persons with disabilities to fulfil their rights. This extends from the Houses of the Oireachtas to the courts and throughout the everyday life of the individual. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and I are determined that our new Department will be rooted in human rights and social justice and we will drive these changes in government. Our aim is the needs of children and adults with disabilities. Their families will have their needs addressed and will be able to participate more fully in society. I look forward to questions from the committee and further long-term engagement with all the members. Chairman: I thank the Minister, Deputy O’Gorman, and invite the Minister of State, Dep- uty Rabbitte, to make her opening statement. Minister of State at the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Deputy Anne Rabbitte): I thank the Chair and members for inviting me. I look forward to working with the joint committee which has been established specifically to deal with disability matters. Unfortunately, many people with disabilities and their families saw schools, day services and respite services close during the pandemic. I completely understand that people might feel they have been forgotten but I want the committee to know that I have been working hard to ensure that people with disabilities and their families are listened to and are at the heart of deci- 3 JDM sions made by the Government. My sustained efforts, with my colleagues in Cabinet, secured an additional €100 million in budget 2021 to assist people with disabilities and their families. In addition, on Friday last, I and the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, announced €20 million in once-off funding for voluntary service providers. This will be used to achieve additional measurable progress, for example, in reforming disability services, improving the quality of life for those who rely on these services and building capacity of disability organisations. This will happen under three different strands. Eligible disability organisations can apply to the HSE disability services by 18 November giving details of their proposal, the budget required and the rationale for what the relevant organisation expects to achieve. The panel of assessors, which will be established by the HSE, will review applications and issue funding approvals by the end of November. Larger grants of over €25,000 will be issued in three different stages. When the budget day announcement was made, we stated this measure was part of transforming lives and it comes under the agenda of transforming lives. This is in addition to the more than €2 billion that the Government provides to fund disability services on an ongoing basis. This sum is significant and I hope it reflects to the committee the importance the Government places on ensur- ing people with disabilities can return to a normal and safe life within the confines of Covid-19 restrictions at every level of the living with Covid plan.

Load more