Submission: Draft National Quality Standards for Residential Services for People with Disabilities
Publication date: October 2008
The Citizens Information Board welcomes the Draft National Quality Standards for Residential Services for People with Disabilities as an important milestone in addressing many of the issues that have been identified over the years in relation to people with disabilities in long-term residential settings. This submission to the Health Information and Quality Authority proposes that a primary focus in residential services should be on maximising choice and promoting social inclusion rather than on the provision of minimum standards. Standards should focus on supporting choice, control, and participation as well as managing vulnerability, risk and dependency. This submission notes that the introduction of standards provides a timely opportunity for service providers to consider how access to independent advocacy services for people in residential services can be strengthened and enhanced to ensure that every person has access to an independent advocate.
The submission also draws attention to the role of advocates in residential service and argues that in the absence of legislation that the role of advocates should be more strongly emphasised in the Standards. The submission also urges further exploration of the potential of different types of advocacy for people with disabilities in residential settings. Among other issues the submission also points out that the legal standing of the Standards needs to be explained in greater detail and that the role of 'representatives' should be clarified.
Submission: Proposed Health Information Bill
Publication date: September 2008
The DOHC published a Discussion Paper on the proposed Bill as well as an audit of national law, instruments and guidelines relating to health information. Issues highlighted in the Submission include the balance between individual rights and the needs of those managing the healthcare system, access to health records and communication between health service providers as well as the need for legislation on issues of consent and substitute decision making.
Submission: Proposed Health Information Bill (Word)
Submission: Green Paper on Local Government
Publication date: July 2008
Submission: Green Paper on Local Government (Word)
Submission: Green Paper on Pensions
Publication date: May 2008
This Submission to the Department of Social and Family Affairs on the Green Paper is informed by the high percentage of state pension related queries dealt with by Citizens Information Services (CIS's) nationally. The most recent Survey shows that 39 per cent of queries from the public relate to social welfare with 10 per cent of these relating to state pensions (contributory and non-contributory). This means that there are in the region of 40,000 queries annually relating to state pensions. As the public pension system continues to be a primary source of pensioners' incomes the need to maintain a strong social welfare insurance-based pensions system is advocated. The Submission draws attention to a number of policy areas including the need for a continuing policy of increasing social welfare pensions by more than the rate of inflation; substantially increasing the Living Alone Allowance because of the greater risk of poverty among this group; examining the feasibility of allowing people (who have a reduced number of contributions) to retrospectively buy some contributions to social insurance; the need to ensure full social insurance coverage and to address anomalies whereby people are excluded and the possibility of introducing provision for people to have an option of working beyond the age of 66.
Submission: Green Paper on Pensions (Word)
Submission: Commission on Taxation
Publication date: May 2008
This submission on the review of the structure, efficiency and appropriateness of the Irish taxation system focuses on the social impact of taxation measures and draws on feedback from information providers in relation to particular anomalies within the system. In 2007, there were 746,247 callers to Citizens Information Services and the Citizens Information Phone Service with total query levels of 889,983. A survey carried out in early 2008 indicates that tax queries represent about 8% of the total queries to the CIS network which represents in the region of 71,000 tax related queries, 60% of which relate to PAYE. The submission is concerned with those tax expenditures which are effectively income maintenance measures and/or which have social as well as economic objectives.
Submission: Commission on Taxation (Word)
Submission: National Carer's Strategy
Publication date: April 2008
