Mr. Gerry Martin:

It would be wrong of me not to take the opportunity to draw the committee's attention to the cuts made last week to the support scheme for national organisations. The Alzheimer Society has suffered direct cuts in the very areas we have been discussing in terms of early intervention. I also represent the views of the Neurological Alliance of Ireland, the membership of which has been significantly hit across the disability sector. I ask the committee for its support in the campaign to reverse the cuts because they impact on the delivery of essential services and many organisations will be devastated if they are not reversed. A structural issue also arises because if these are essential services, they should not be funded on a grant basis in the first place. They need sustainable funding. I also ask for the committee's support in that regard.