merrion street

Minister of State with responsibility for Disability, Anne Rabbitte T.D., today announced that she has approved a proposal by the HSE to make a deferral of day service placement process of up to three years available to all young people leaving school and rehabilitative training on a permanent basis.

This announcement follows a successful pilot project in response to feedback from young people and their families, who were reluctant to try non-HSE options in case a day place would not be available should they require it after the year they leave school or rehabilitative training.

Minister Rabbitte said “The deferral process represents an important opportunity for young people to avoid being funnelled into adult day services, when they may well be successful in other avenues of life such as further education or employment, when given the confidence, time and security to pursue these dreams.

“I am particularly pleased to note that, of the 206 young people who chose to defer their day service place as part of the pilot to end-December 2020, only 14 have returned to access a day service, with 27 choosing to be removed from the deferral list entirely.”

The deferral process will be in place on a permanent footing for all young people leaving school and rehabilitative training from September 2022 onwards.

The deferral process pilot was an action under the Comprehensive Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities, 2015-2024, and aligns with Article 27 of the UNCRPD in enabling people with disabilities to have effective access to general technical and vocational guidance programmes, placement services and vocational and continuing training.

ENDS//