Submissions 2010
Pre-Budget Submission
Publication Date: November 2010
This submission draws on the experience of CISs, CIPS and MABS which clearly reflect the current economic environment with an increasing number of clients who require additional support from the State. Meeting the needs of the growing number of people out of work presents significant challenges in terms of both income support and ensuring that people who have become unemployed retain and/or acquire the relevant skills and motivation to overcome obstacles to employment. The welfare support needs of individual citizens need to be met in the short-term while simultaneously developing strong proactive job creation programmes. Based on experiences of clients using information and advice services and the issues emerging from feedback, the CIB submits that the following broad concerns need to be addressed in the forthcoming budget: support for existing jobs; activation measures; skills programmes for the unemployed; greater flexibility in combining welfare payments; rationalisation of welfare to work schemes and better structuring of the training, benefits and income support schemes including simplification of criteria for access to schemes, targeting of unemployed people who are particularly affected under current provisions – self-employed and atypical workers and innovative responses to the problem of indebtedness.
Submission on Forthcoming Mental Capacity Legislation
Publication Date: November 2010
The protection of vulnerable adults requires the enactment of Mental Capacity legislation as well as a range of other measures. The CIB calls for the proposed legislation to be introduced and enacted as quickly as possible in keeping with human rights principles and a life-cycle approach to disability and to ensure maximum legal protection for the current cohort of people whose capacity may be limited but also to protect the growing number of those who may have impaired capacity associated with increased longevity. The Board considers that it is important to ensure that there is a coherent approach to all protective measures and, therefore, makes suggestions about how other measures can operate in tandem with the implementation of the scheme of guardianship proposed in the legislation. The CIB has experience of the difficulties faced by people with impaired capacity from its involvement in advocacy work. Most people with disabilities have capacity and are able to manage their affairs and decisions on the same basis as others. However, there are three groups who are in need of protection; older adults with diminished capacity who are in residential care or being cared for at home; adults with intellectual disabilities who are in residential care or are being cared for at home and people with mental health difficulties who have episodes of incapacity. The presumption of capacity is an essential component of any rights-based legislative provisions. This means that everyone has legal capacity but some people need more support than others in exercising that capacity.
Submission: forthcoming Mental Capacity legislation
(Word) 
Submission: Safer Better Healthcare
Publication Date: November 2010
As part of a national consultation process, a CIB Submission on Draft National Standards for Safer Better Healthcare has been made to the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA). The national standards are designed to be applicable to all healthcare services, excluding mental health. The CIB Submission emphasises the need for the Standards to aim towards achieving quality of care in community settings as well as in hospitals and to provide for a continuum of provision between hospital and the community. Over 9% of queries to CIS's are health service related which represented nearly 90,000 queries in 2009. The development of National Standards provides an opportunity for health service providers to explore how health service delivery structures can ensure more citizen-centred health services and to look at the delivery of integrated health services (hospital and community-based) to vulnerable groups, especially people with disabilities and more dependent older people. The Submission highlights a number of areas including the requirement for distinct standards in the delivery of personal social services and the need for a stronger partnership approach between service users and healthcare providers in delivering quality healthcare.
Submission: Safer Better Healthcare (Word)
Submission: Government Departments/Offices Statements of Strategy 2011-2013
Publication Date: August 2010
The CIB believes that Strategy Statements offer a valuable and timely opportunity to copperfasten Government policy on developing citizen-centred services in accordance with its Transforming Public Services Programme. The increasing number of people who require additional support from the State puts significant pressure on the income support and social services systems. A recurring theme highlighted in feedback from information, advice and advocacy services on client experiences of public services is an administrative or communication difficulty relating to one or more Government Departments or agencies. This Submission deals primarily with the delivery of public social services in accordance with the CIB's own remit and is focused on the need for an integrated and citizen-centred delivery of these services.
Submission: Government Departments/Offices Statements of
Strategy 2011-2013 (Word)
Submission: Citizens Information Board Submission on Code of Practice on the Mental Health Act 2001
Publication Date: April 2010
In response to the development of a Code of Practice on the Mental Health Act 2001 by the Mental Health Commission, the Citizens Information Board identified two aspects of provision that need to be enshrined in the Code – information and advocacy. Information should be comprehensive and transparent and delivered in a manner that promotes autonomy, while being sensitive to the need to protect privacy. In terms of advocacy, guidance should be provided on how people with mental health difficulties can access independent advocacy. The particular needs of people transferring out of hospital into community and young people transferring from children's services to adult services were identified in the submission
