2711. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her attention has been drawn to the case of an adult with high support needs, fully cared for by their family (details supplied); her views on the adequacy of the supports provided by the State since the person turned 18 years-of-age; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57109/26]

2712. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will facilitate a meeting with a family in relation to the care of their adult daughter (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57110/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 2711 and 2712 together.

HSE-funded day programmes for people with intellectual disabilities, autism, or complex physical disabilities include a range of centre-based and community-based activities. Access to services is based on an individual’s needs rather than on their diagnosis. 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.

The Specialist Disability Budget supports a range of services funded through the HSE and delivered by Section 38 and Section 39 organisations, as well as the HSE. This includes, among other services and supports, Day Services and Rehabilitative Training for people with specialist disability service requirements.

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. The majority of young people due to leave school in a given year that require a HSE funded day service have been profiled by the end of the previous year to establish their support needs. Once needs are identified, referrals are made to the service provider of choice, funding is committed and negotiations are concluded with providers by end of May to confirm placements to young people and their families. In many instances young people due to leave school at end of June are introduced to their day services for trialling purposes during April, May and June so there is a natural transition into day services in September.

The provision of transport is not part of core services funded by the HSE. As a general rule, public transport is used in all circumstances where it is an option. This is in keeping with the principle of mainstreaming, with a clear focus on ensuring persons with a disability have access to the normal range of services and participate in community life as far as possible. In general, day service users are in receipt of disability allowance and are automatically entitled to the Free Travel Pass.

Under Pillar 5 of the Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030, the Department of Transport has lead responsibility for reducing and, where possible, eliminating transport barriers faced by disabled people. Under Pillar 5, there is a commitment to personal mobility, and supporting those who cannot use or easily access any public transport through the provision of enhanced personal mobility options.

It is recognised that viable public transport options are not always available throughout the country and that transport support needs vary between individuals. In the absence of transport options being made available by the National Transport Authority (NTA), some transport supports are provided by the HSE or funded agencies on a case-by-case basis, and a variety of transport solutions are pursued in different Health Regions. These include travel training to enable public transport to be used, where appropriate, local transport such as Local Link, private bus transport and some service providers provide transport where capacity exists.

As this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.