2776. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the steps she is taking to improve disability services nationwide; if she will examine the need for increased and sustained funding for personal assistance services (PAS) to support people with disabilities to live independently in their communities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55550/26]

Disability is a core priority for this Government, reflected in the decision to transfer responsibility for specialist disability services out of the Department of Health in March 2023 and to establish a dedicated Cabinet Committee on Disability last year.

The Department of Children, Disability and Equality (DCDE) is committed to working with the HSE and the broader disability sector to ensure that valued service providers receive the funding they need to continue to deliver quality services and supports to disabled people in Ireland. This Department provides funding to the HSE to deliver specialist disability services either directly or via Section 38 and Section 39 organisations.

Broadly, these HSE Specialist Disability Services include residential placements, respite, day services, personal assistance and home support to assist people with disabilities to live independently in their communities and multi—disciplinary therapies which are largely associated with children’s services.

In 2026, the Department is providing €3.9 billion for HSE Specialist Disability Services, an increase of €628m, or almost 20% over 2025. This is the largest ever increase in funding for disability services. It follows significant year on year increases resulting in an overall increase of €1.85bn or 91%, since 2020.

This investment is delivering tangible results for families:

• Delivery of 1,400 Day Service places for a further cohort of young people who will leave school in 2026 and a further 50 places for older adults.

• over 1500 additional residential placements since 2023;

• a 16% increase in overnight respite; and

• a doubling of day respite sessions.

For children, there has been significant progress in reducing delays. Preliminary HSE data shows that national CDNT waiting lists have fallen by 50% since mid-2023, with over 45,000 children and families now supported by 93 teams nationwide. This is against a backdrop of increasing demand for services that continues to rise while complexity is increasing.

Services have too often been crisis-led rather than planned, which is why this Government is pairing record investment with deep structural reform. A new National Director for Disability is being established within the HSE for the first time, supported by six Regional Disability Leads, to strengthen accountability, planning and performance across the system.

Legislative reform is also underway. The Disability Act is being updated to allow earlier and more proportionate assessments, faster delivery of reports, and better use of existing clinical information – while fully protecting statutory rights.

From a policy perspective, The National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030, was launched in September 2025. This strategy sets out a blueprint for the progressive realisation of Ireland’s obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). The Strategy operates as a framework for the coordination of disability policy across government and for the development of a step-change in the delivery of disability services.

Regarding personal assistance (PA) services, since 2024, Government has provided funding to support the delivery of 225,000 additional hours of personal assistance. This includes €1.6 million provided in Budget 2026 to support the delivery of 50,000 additional personal assistance hours this year.

Budget 2026 also saw a substantial investment of €15m to increase the rate for service delivery for both home support and PA, helping ensure providers can build and sustain the workforce needed to support people with disabilities every day and fulfilling a key Programme for Government commitment to align the disability rates with the rate paid for similar support services in other sectors.