I thank all Deputies for their passionate contributions on what is a very important topic. The issues highlighted are very important but we all share a common objective of ensuring people with disabilities receive timely and appropriate specialist services and placements when they need them. While there may be different views on the measures needed to achieve that objective, ultimately we are all seeking better outcomes for people with disabilities. As the Minister, Deputy Foley, outlined, substantial work is already under way to improve services, build capacity and ensure people can access the supports they need. As the Minister of State with special responsibility for disability, I am determined to work across Government to make that happen. Just last week the Tánaiste and I met members of the Before We Die campaign. I welcome them here and commend them on their advocacy and the detailed research they have collected, collated and presented. Most importantly, I thank them for their practical suggestions, which I look forward to working with them on. I have also met members of Remember Us alongside Deputy Boland. Parents in both groups but also right across the country know better than any of us in this Chamber how complex an area it is. They know we must work together across Government to meet growing demand for the required services because we require action, and action across a range of interconnected areas, many of which the Minister touched on earlier. Ultimately, we need to be able to deliver timely and appropriate data and that needs to be used to help build timely and appropriate responses. This means understanding outcomes are achieved for people who use services and it means ensuring those services are delivered in a safe, high-quality and person-centred way. We can only achieve that with the right people and with access to the right housing needs. Addressing workplaces challenges, including the recruitment and retention of a strong workforce, and having the right regulatory environment for the sector in place is key. So too is access to appropriate and adequate availability of housing. In that regard, I echo the Minister’s welcome of the circular from this week to local authorities on housing development action plans. Those plans will deliver more appropriate accommodation solutions for people with complex disabilities in local authorities across the country. It is a really positive step and follows a significant amount of cross-sectoral work, which was driven by the Taoiseach and Ministers at the special Cabinet committee on disability. I recently met the director of housing in Mayo County Council and with the access officer in Donegal County Council. I would like to recognise the local authorities that are leading the way on this. The introduction of new plans and targets will focus each and every local authority so they will give this the priority it needs. To support families with adult children with intellectual disabilities, and indeed families of children with all disabilities, the HSE is putting in place housing co-ordinators to develop housing opportunities together with approved housing bodies, service providers and local authority housing teams. That is the kind of interagency co-operation Deputy Toole called for and I confirm it is happening. The HSE is also establishing residential planning and review teams to enable us to better plan our responses to residential needs and to ensure placements - especially those where people are placed outside their county, which many Deputies referred to – are reviewed regularly. It will also help us deliver a system that plans ahead better. This year we are, under a new initiative, delivering planned residential placements as well as emergency placements. We need to build on the number of planned residential places delivered this year and I will be working with the Minister to fight for additional budget to deliver additional planned placements next year. As the Minister outlined, a range of policy and strategic responses are currently being developed to support further improvements across disability services and many of those are being developed in a cross-Department manner. The key now is implementation. We want to deliver these improvements at the best pace and we want to deliver them to the highest standard possible. That requires both human and financial resources, which is something we are working on. Behind all this are the people who are making those services work every day and I pay tribute to the contribution of staff up and down the country in the HSE, section 38s, section 39s and private providers who are supporting people in this situation. It is also important to recognise the absolutely invaluable contribution of families and the natural support networks people have. Most importantly, we need to ensure the voice of the person with a disability remains at the centre of everything we do. As we look to the future that means continuing to build services that provide greater choice, greater flexibility and more individualised responses while also ensuring those services remains sustainable and make the best use of available resources. Achieving that balance will be really important. It is a big challenge but the most important thing we need to do to meet that challenge is to plan ahead. To support this, the Government has continued to invest significantly in specialist disability services over recent years. We received a 20% increase in funding this year compared with last year. Specialist disability residential services represents the largest areas of HSE disability spend and accounted for almost 60% of the total budget. This year €65 million has been allocated to disability residential services to support new developments. This includes €40 million in funding to provide approximately 199 new residential responses and 152 new residential placements comprising 72 planned placements and 81 priority 1 placements to meet urgent need, as outlined in the HSE national service plan. Importantly, that service plan places increased emphasis on longer-term planning for residential placements with strengthened operational processes being put in place to respond to the current high demand. Funding will also be provided to further support the HSE’s under-65 programme, as mentioned by Deputy Wall and others, and further transitions from congregated settings. Since 2020 additional funding provided to the HSE has supported the creation of over 1,000 additional new priority 1 residential places for people with a disability. These placements largely support people moving from their family home to residential services and are in addition to transitions from congregated settings. Between 2022 and 2024 €52.4 million of CAS was provided by the Department of housing to deliver 280 units of housing for disabled people. In addition to supporting residential services this year’s budget also provides funding for the provision and expansion of a variety of services to support people to live in their community, including in local homes. This includes €25 million in new development funding for respite services, €44.3 million for day services and €12.1 million to support home support and personal assistance services, as mentioned here. Deputy Sherlock mentioned the challenges being experienced by some families with assisted decision-making. I confirm we are bringing forward the planned review of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act and look forward to engaging with families and people with disabilities on that. Work is also under way to ensure the support for future development of disability services in terms of a multi-annual strategy for disability capital. This will allow a more strategic approach to disability capital investment, especially in light of the recent national development plan review. It will also allow a potential investment in disability capital for residential, respite, day services and assessments in multidisciplinary teams of up to €278 million between now and 2030. Alongside this work, and as referenced by many contributors, the Department is also developing an updated capacity review for specialist disability services which will project demand, need profile and required resourcing across key service areas up to 2040. It is expected to be completed by the end of this year. This updated review will provide an important evidence base for future project demand, need profile and resourcing and will allow us to plan better. However, while planning for future services and supports is essential we know meeting the needs of people with disabilities requires action now and a much broader, whole-of-government response. In recognition of the cross-departmental nature of the supports required by people with disabilities, the Department of Children, Disability and Equality has published the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030, as co-designed by people with disabilities. The implementation and monitoring group on it, which holds all of us Ministers to account, has representatives of disabled people and their DPOs. Collaborative approaches are needed and they are going to be central to meeting the challenges ahead and delivering better outcomes for disabled people and their families. Today's discussion has highlighted both the scale of the challenges that remain but also some of the progress that is being made. Our focus now needs to ensure that we continue to invest in services, grow our workforce and plan for future demand, and work across Government to remove barriers for people with disabilities and provide better supports for families who are caring for their loved ones.

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I am not saying that.

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