COMHAIRLE CHONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, November 13, 2006

QUESTION 11.

QUESTION: Cllr. Joe Neville

To ask the Manager to have arranged a review of the current practise of out-sourcing Occupational Therapists and that this issue be reviewed by the Housing S.P.C and also raised at the proposed joint inter authority area committee meetings with a view to ascertaining how other Local Authorities administer this process?

REPLY

South Dublin County Council operates the Disabled Persons Grant Schemes in respect of both the public and private sectors.

This is done in accordance with regulations and guidelines laid down by the Department Of Environment and Local Government ( DoELG )

Grant applicants from private houses may if they so wish either submit their own Occupational Therapist ( O/T ) report with their application or they may avail of an O/T nominated by the Council. It if often the case that individual applicants may not know of an O/T themselves and so wish the Council to nominate one for them.

Council tenants have their needs assessed by an O/T nominated by the Council's Housing Department.

The complexity or otherwise of an O/T assessment of needs dictates the time taken for a report to be prepared and submitted to the Council.

Some applicants may require several visits to their home to allow a full assessment to be made. It is often the case that an O/T would need to meet with and liaise with a building contractor with regard to specific measures that may need to be carried out to an applicants home.

The average time taken for a report to be requested , assessed , prepared and submitted by an O/T to the Council is six to ten weeks.

Housing Maintenance Section administers the Grant Schemes and is currently reviewing all aspects of the process including that pertaining to the role of the O/T.

It is likely that a new panel of O/T's will be formed which will increase the number of O/T's avaivable to the Council. This will have the effect of increasing the availability of O/T's if and when deemed necessary.

It is considered that it is not cost effective for the Council to employ its own Occupational Therapists and at present the average cost to the Council of an O/T report is approx. € 180.

There is currently no backlog or waiting list of applicants requiring an O/T to be assigned to assess their application.