15 June 2011

Parliamentary Questions

• Options if a school refuses to accept a child
• Waiting time for decision on Disability Allowance
• If medical assessment should be only criteria for domiciliary care allowance applicants
• Social welfare applications refused on habitual residency grounds
• Service level agreement
• Value for Money and Policy Review of Disability Services
• Accessible taxis scheme
• Automatic renewal of medical cards for people with intellectual disabilities

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTIONS

• Options if a school refuses to accept a child

Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl (FF): asked the Minister for Education and Skills    the options available to parents in which they have been advised by the school in which their child is enrolled that the school cannot meet their child’s special educational needs; if, in such circumstances, it is the responsibility of the local special educational needs organiser to identify an alternative suitable school placement and in the absence of an alternative, if he is obliged to provide home or school tuition support;

Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Ruairí Quinn):  I wish to advise the Deputy that the enrolment of a child in a school is a matter in the first instance for the parents of the child and the Board of Management of a school. My Department has no role in relation to processing applications for enrolment in schools. The National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) is the statutory agency which assists parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child. The NEWB will try to help parents to find an alternative school placement if their child has been unable to secure a placement to date. Where a school refuses to enrol a pupil, the school is obliged to inform parents of their right under Section 29 of the Education Act 1998 to appeal that decision to the Secretary General of my Department. Where an appeal under Section 29 is upheld, the Secretary General may direct a school to enrol a pupil. The Deputy may be aware that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports. The NCSE operates within my Department’s criteria in allocating such support. The SENOs co-ordinate special needs education provision at local level and arrange for the delivery of special educational services. They act as single points of contact for parents of students with special educational needs. Another specific function of the SENO is to identify appropriate educational placements for children with special educational needs. All schools have the names and contact details of their local SENO. Parents may also contact their local SENO directly to discuss their child’s special educational needs, using the contact details available on www.ncse.ie. In considering applications for teaching and SNA support for individual pupils, the SENOs take account of the needs identified in the professional reports and decide whether the circumstances come within the Department’s criteria. They then consider the resources available to the school to identify whether additionality is needed or whether the school might reasonably be expected to meet the needs of the pupil from its current level of resources. Finally, I wish to clarify for the Deputy that the home tuition scheme provides funding to parents to provide education at home for children who, for a number of reasons such as chronic illness, are unable to attend school. The scheme was extended in recent years to facilitate tuition for children awaiting a suitable educational placement. Home tuition support may therefore be made available for a child for whom there is no school place available, subject to the scheme’s criteria.

• Waiting time for decision on Disability Allowance

Deputy Damien English (FG): asked the Minister for Social Protection the average waiting time for a decision on applications for disability allowance; if she will provide a breakdown on a county basis in tabular form; her plans to reduce the average waiting time;

Minister for Social Protection (Deputy Joan Burton):  The average number of weeks taken to award a disability allowance claim for the period January to April 2011 was 17 weeks. The department does not hold statistics on a county by county basis for processing times for disability allowance applications. To be eligible for disability allowance, a claimant must (inter alia) satisfy a medical assessment, a means test and be habitually resident in the state.

The processing time for individual disability allowance claims may vary in accordance with their relative complexity in terms of the three main criteria listed above. Certain claims have to be referred to social welfare inspectors for means investigation and this can add to the overall processing times. These claims are often complex and can take time to investigate. In addition, factors outside the department’s control can have an impact, for example, the supply of relevant information by the customer, employers or other third parties. The measures taken to improve processing times for disability allowance claims include increasing the number of claims which are desk assessed for means purposes and reducing the numbers being sent to Social Welfare Inspectors (SWIs). Since August 2009 all claims are being desk assessed by the Medical Assessors thus obviating the need to call claimants for in-person medical examinations. Since November 2010, all medical reports for new disability allowance claims are being scanned to make processing of medical assessments more efficient. The scheme is scheduled to go on a new IT platform later this year, as part of Department’s business transformation programme which should improve processing times and further enhance customer service.

Customers waiting on a decision on their disability allowance claim, who have urgent income support needs, can apply for the means tested supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) from their local community welfare officer.

• If medical assessment should be only criteria for domiciliary care allowance applicants

Deputy Martin Ferris (SF): asked the Minister for Social Protection    his views that the medical assessments supporting domiciliary care allowance should be the only criteria governing eligibility.

Minister for Social Protection (Deputy Joan Burton): In order to qualify for domiciliary care allowance a child must have a disability so severe that it requires the child needing care and attention and/or supervision substantially in excess of another child of the same age. This care and attention must be given by another person, effectively full-time so that the child can deal with the activities of daily living. The child must be likely to require this level of care and attention for at least 12 months.

The application process operated by the Department involves the submission of a detailed statement by the parent or guardian of the child; a detailed medical assessment by the child’s general practitioner; and any other relevant evidence available from qualified experts who have examined the child. This evidence is then assessed by designated Departmental Medical Assessors who have received special training in the area of child disability.

In reviewing the medical evidence and written reports the Medical Assessor is required to make a determination as to whether the information contained in the application demonstrates that the child requires substantial continuous additional care and attention. In this regard the medical evidence and supporting documentation are key to assisting the Medical Assessor to determine if the child meets the scheme qualifying criteria.

• Social welfare applications refused on habitual residency grounds

Deputy Bernard J. Durkan (FG): asked the Minister for Social Protection    the number of applications for various social welfare payments refused on habitual residency grounds in each of the past five years to date in 2011;

Minister for Social Protection (Deputy Joan Burton):  The requirement to be habitually resident in Ireland was introduced as a qualifying condition for certain social assistance schemes and child benefit with effect from 1 May 2004.

All applicants — regardless of nationality — for the following payments are required to be habitually resident in the State:

Jobseeker’s Allowance

State Pension (Non-Contributory for persons aged over 66)

Blind Pension

Widow’s, Widower’s and Orphan’s Non-Contributory Pensions

One-parent Family Payment

Carer’s Allowance

Disability Allowance

Supplementary Welfare Allowance (including Rent Supplement)

Domiciliary Care Allowance

Child Benefit

The number of applications that have been disallowed welfare payments, based on the failure to satisfy the habitual residence condition, from 1 January 2005 to the end of May 2011 is set out in the following table. Please note that figures for 2010 are incomplete due to industrial action when figures were not collected. Statistics in relation to the number of Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) claims that do not satisfy the habitual residence condition are not maintained by the various HSE areas.

• Service level agreement

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald (SF): asked the Minister for Health    if the signed service level agreement 2010 for an organisation (details supplied) included a value for money audit; and the date on which he expects to receive the requested report on the chief executive’s remuneration package.

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Kathleen Lynch):  To ensure that resources available for specialist disability services are used in the most effective manner possible, service level agreements between organisations and the Health Service Executive (HSE) contain detailed information on the quantum and nature of the services provided by the organisation and the level of funding provided by the HSE. They do not, as a general rule, include or provide for a value for money audit.

However, as part of the Government’s Programme of Value for Money Reviews, a Review of the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Disability Services in Ireland is being undertaken in my Department. This in-depth review of Disability Services will assess how well current services for people with disabilities meet their objectives and support the future planning and development of services.

As you are aware, Minister Reilly wrote to the Chairperson of the Rehab Group regarding the remuneration of the Group’s Chief Executive on 20th May last. A reply was received on 13th June, enclosing a copy of the Press Statement issued by the Rehab Group on the 15th April.

• Value for Money and Policy Review of Disability Services

Deputy Denis Naughten (FG): asked the Minister for Health the recommendations of a review by a person (details supplied) into section 38 and 39 agencies in 2010; the savings to date; the projected further savings;

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Kathleen Lynch):  My Department is currently engaged in a Value for Money and Policy Review of Disability Services as part of the Government’s Value for Money Reviews for 2009-2011. The Steering Group is chaired by an independent chairperson, Mr. Laurence Crowley, and has two other independent members, as well as members drawn from the Disability Sector, Department of Health and Children, the Department of Finance and the HSE. The review is still in progress and has not yet reached the stage of making recommendations.

The focus of the review is on an assessment of how well current services for people with disabilities are meeting their objectives and how best to support the future planning and development of services within the appropriate policy framework.

The objectives of the Review are to:

Examine disability services in Ireland funded by the HSE, including the statutory and non-statutory sectors.

Deliver a comprehensive analysis of data in relation to services and service providers.

Review current policy objectives and provide policy objectives for future service provision.

Based on current estimates of the work remaining to complete the review, I expect the report to be finalised in November, 2011 after which it will be submitted to the Government for its consideration and publication in due course.

• Accessible taxis scheme

Deputy Michael Healy-Rae (I): asked the Minister for Health his plans to put in place a scheme to help disabled persons who have to avail of specialised taxi or hackney services for their transport.

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Kathleen Lynch):  Government policy, through the National Disability Strategy, aims to improve access to mainstream public services, including transport, for people with a disability. The Strategy is a programme of action to support and reinforce equal participation in society by people with a disability. This equal participation will be brought about by integration in the mainstream wherever possible, and minimum segregation. The successful achievement of mainstreaming will be when people with a disability are supported to access all the services and supports available to their peers.

There are a number of public service supports in place for people with a disability in respect of their transport and mobility needs, including:

tax concessions

the Mobility Allowance and the Motorised Transport Grant

free public transport for people with disabilities and a companion through the Department of Social Protection

improved accessibility of public transport

Rural Transport Programme and

transport provided by specialist disability service providers and charities.

• Automatic renewal of medical cards for people with intellectual disabilities

Deputy Seán Kenny (L): asked the Minister for Health the feasibility of automatic renewal of medical cards for adults with life-long physical or intellectual disabilities in the interest of saving the time and cost of renewal of medical cards for persons in these circumstances every year;

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Róisín Shortall):  I have asked the Health Service Executive for a report on the issue raised by the Deputy. I will revert to the Deputy on the matter as soon as possible.

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