November 05 2009

Parliamentary Questions

• Employment of physiotherapists
• Number of adults with an intellectual disability accessing day services in dublin
• Number of people with Autism nationally
• Number of children in care of the state
• Funding for Sports Inclusion Development Officers

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTIONS

• Employment of physiotherapists

Deputy James Bannon (FG): asked the Minister for Health and Children her plans to help unemployed physiotherapy graduates;

Minister for Health and Children (Deputy Mary Harney): There has been a growing demand for, and investment in, physiotherapy services over the last number of years. A particular priority for my Department and the Department of Education and Science in recent years has been the expansion of the supply of therapy graduates. The Government has also invested heavily in the education and training of such personnel in order to secure a good supply of graduates to provide for the healthcare needs of the population into the future. In this regard, since 1997, the number of training places for physiotherapists has been increased from 64 to 145 which represents an increase of 127%. The numbers employed in physiotherapy has also grown significantly, with 678 whole time equivalents employed in December 1999 compared to 1,442 whole time equivalents employed in September 2009, which represents an increase of 113%. The Government is committed to ensuring continued adequate recruitment of professional staff across a range of community settings to ensure the continued development of community services. Additional funding of €20 million has been provided in 2009 for health and education services for children with special educational needs. This funding will provide a total of 125 additional therapy posts in the HSE targeted at children of school-going age. 90 of these will be in the disability services, including speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists. My Department has written to the Health Service Executive setting out the overall approved employment control ceiling for 2009. As part of this approval, written confirmation has been provided to the HSE that the general moratorium on recruitment, promotion and the payment of acting up allowances does not apply to specific designated grades. Delegated sanction has been given to the HSE for the creation and filling of frontline posts including speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy posts. The approval indicated that vacancies in existing posts in these grades may continue to be filled. New posts may also be created in these grades, up to a specified limit, provided that the HSE is satisfied in each case that there is no scope to redeploy an equivalent post from the hospital sector to the primary and community care sector. This moratorium exemption provides for an increase in the number of therapy posts, in line with Government policy, in order to meet the requirements of integrated care delivery and primary care needs particularly in respect of children at risk, the elderly and those with disabilities. The recruitment and retention of these key front line therapy posts, including physiotherapists, is vital to ensure continued progress in the development of community settings. Subject to overall parameters set by Government, the Health Service Executive has the responsibility for determining the composition of its staffing complement. It is a matter for the Executive to manage and deploy its human resources to best meet the requirements of its Annual Service Plan for the delivery of health and personal social services to the public. With regard to the recruitment of new physiotherapy posts, as this is an operational matter it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.

• Number of adults with an intellectual disability accessing day services in dublin

Deputy Catherine Byrne (FG): asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of adults with an intellectual disability that are currently accessing day services in the Dublin area; the location of each of these services;

Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children (Deputy John Moloney): As the Deputy’s question related to service matters, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply.

• Number of people with Autism nationally

Deputy David Stanton (FG): asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of persons with autism in the State; how the Health Service Executive and her Department record the number of persons with autism in the State;

Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children (Deputy John Moloney): As the Deputy’s question relates to service matters I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply.

• Number of children in care of the state

Deputy David Stanton (FG): asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of children in care in the State; the number who are in residential facilities operated by private care organisations; the names and locations of these facilities; the number of children in care in each location;

Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children (Deputy Barry Andrews): As this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply. 

• Funding for Sports Inclusion Development Officers

Deputy Michael Ring (FG): asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the way he will fund the continuation of a programme (details supplied) which has directly engaged thousands of people with disabilities in sport and physical activities in view of its nationwide success.

Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism (Deputy Martin Cullen): Special funding of €2.5 million was allocated from the dormant accounts fund for the appointment of 20 Sports Inclusion Development Officers (SIDOs) in Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs) in 2008. The SIDOs were appointed on two-year contracts to provide opportunities for persons with a disability to participate in sport and physical activity. A network of 33 LSPs has been set up throughout the country by the Irish Sports Council (ISC) to coordinate and promote sport at local level especially amongst specific target groups such as older people, girls and women, people with disabilities, unemployed people, and those who live in identified disadvantaged communities. The special dormant accounts funding was in addition to the annual funding provided to the LSPs by the ISC for programmes and initiatives aimed at increasing participation in recreational sport. The ISC has allocated €6 million to the LSPs in 2009. The continuation of the SIDO scheme from 2010 will be dependent on negotiations on the 2010 Estimates.

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