NDSA Pre-Budget Submission 2024

There is an ongoing crisis in the disability sector which is fundamentally one of funding and has led to what the HSE itself calls an unsustainable financial situation for the sector.  But it is also a crisis which arises from the absence of an agreement, policy or strategy defining the role of the sector in the delivery of an important part of social care, for which the state is responsible.

NDSA, along with many other disability groups, has outlined this crisis for several years. The lack of implementation plans and funding in so many areas, e.g. Disability Capacity Review, Pay Parity for Section 39 organisations, recruitment crisis in the health care sector, has brought us to a critical point for the disability sector.

There is a serious risk that, over time, voluntary organisations will be unable to fulfil their service arrangements to the HSE in the absence of these issues of pay parity, recruitment and retention being addressed. The state relies on us to deliver its statutory obligation to people with disabilities and this crisis impacts many thousands of vulnerable adults and children.

In Budget 2024, the NDSA are calling on thegovernment to commit to four key measures:

1. Publish an Action Plan for the Disability Capacity Review and invest money to resource it.    
2. Provide funding for full pay restoration for Section 39 organisations and return to parity with HSE pay scales.
3. Provide multi-annual funding for Disability organisations delivering vital services on behalf of the Health Service Executive and the State.
4. Initiate reform of the disability sector with meaningful consultation with stakeholders to enable Section 39 organisations to be adequately and sustainably funded to ensure continuity of vital disability service provision. 

For further information, please contact Caoimhín Corrigan
Tel: 0872744824

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Read the full submission here

NDSA Pre-Budget Submission 2024