Transcript The Office for Disability & Mental Health

The Irish policy landscape –
inclusion or illusion?
Bairbre Nic Aongusa, Director,
Office for Disability & Mental Health
Presentation to New Options Conference
Portlaoise, 13 May 2010
Who are we talking about?
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Citizens who have a disability
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Intellectual disability and autism
Physical and sensory disabilities
Mental health difficulties
Important differences between client groups
BUT key policy concerns are the same
Q. What does every citizen want?
What is our ultimate goal?
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People with disabilities are supported to
fully participate in our communities
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Housing
Transport
Employment
Education
Leisure
Civil society
Ireland’s
National Disability Strategy
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Mainstreaming agenda – move away
from dominance of health & social care
Focus on equality and citizenship
Co-ordinated, cross-governmental
approach
Partnership with the sector
Underpinned by legislation & funding
Some success…
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Public transport more accessible
Building regulations in force
Improvements in income support
Significant investment in services in the
health sector
…but fundamental issues remain
What are the barriers?
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Funding? (but more has been invested in
disability services in last 10 years than ever
before)
Human resources? (ditto)
Societal attitudes? (arguably more positive
now than heretofore)
Maybe we need to ask ….
Who benefits from keeping things as they
are?
Reframing the issue
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Take the lead from the person with a
disability
Traditionally, health system did everything –
cradle to grave
Many of the factors which promote inclusion
are outside the formal health system – family,
community, education, employment, housing,
income support
More coherent and integrated approach
needed from the State to drive change
The Office for Disability
& Mental Health
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Established in 2008 to support the
Minister of State in exercising his
functions across 4 Departments –
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Health & Children
Education & Science
Enterprise, Trade & Employment
Justice, Equality & Law Reform
Our Approach
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Work across sectoral boundaries to
develop shared understanding of goals
Person with the disability at the centre
of policy and service delivery
Holistic view of clients’ and service
users’ needs
Actively involved in their own care
Key priorities
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Integrated health & education support
services for children with special needs;
Training & employment support services
for people with a disability;
Greater co-operation between mental
health & criminal justice systems;
Driving implementation of Vision for
Change.
Disability Services Reform
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More to it than additional resources
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“What can be done with what we have?”
Changing ways of working
Changing mindsets!
VFM and Policy Review
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Day Services and Congregated Settings reviews
Re-allocation of expenditure
Individualised payments/budgeting?
What happens next….
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Policy review due for completion
Summer 2010
Will signal direction of travel…
VFM process ongoing –
recommendations will be informed by
policy review
Get in ahead of the posse?
ODMH aims to…
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Listen to the voices of people with
disabilities themselves
Develop a shared vision across all
Government sectors
Drive system change
Partnership with all stakeholders
Our Vision
“That every person with a disability would
be supported to enable them, as far as
possible, to lead full and independent
lives, to participate in work and in
society and to maximise their potential”
Towards 2016, section 33, page 66