Delay over disability services criticised

It was disappointing that the implementation of minimum service standards for people with disabilities would take years, the People with Disabilities in Ireland organisation, has said.

The draft standards for services should now be published without delay, it said.

Chief executive of the organisation Michael Ringrose said "a great deal of very professional and high-level work" had gone into drawing up the draft standards. He said it was deeply frustrating to see them being "hived off to an interim body".

Speaking in the Dáil last week Minister of State with responsibility for disability Tim O'Malley said: "The draft NSDS (National Standards for Disability Services) have been forwarded to the Interim HIQA (Health Information and Quality Authority) for its consideration. The implementation process for the NSDS will necessarily involve an incremental process of planning, training and implementation over the coming years."

Mr Ringrose said it was disappointing that the Minister had indicated the implementation of minimum standards would take years. "We need publication and public discussion and then we need implementation. Standards would be an essential step in ensuring that the end user has some guarantee of the quality of service to expect."

He said the consensus was that there was a huge regional variation on provision of health services, which created a lottery based on one's address instead of one's needs. "People in rural areas face particular difficulties in accessing services."