Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to make a number of comments before calling on the witnesses to respond. Representatives from FLAC made a statement earlier concerning social impact assessments of our budgets, which is something that certain Departments have attempted to do in the past. We must acknowledge that sometimes they got it right but other times they got it drastically wrong. I am hoping the changes announced today regarding how we will manage committee debates in the budgetary processes will have a positive impact on that in the coming years and I ask the witnesses to comment on that point.

It is not just because I come from a rural community that I have very different views to those of Senator Hayden. The agricultural industry must be supported and when it is supported, it demonstrates that it can provide employment and a return to the Exchequer. Of the 34,000 new jobs that were created in the last year, 9,000 were in the agricultural industry. The industry has proven that when it is supported by Government it can excel. In the context of the Harvest 2020 targets and given the fact that we all have to eat, that is to be applauded.

I have a number of specific questions for Mr. Dolan, arising from my interest in education provision for children with disabilities. The NCSE review announced a number of months ago will take place over the course of the next six to 12 months. What is Mr. Dolan's view on it? Has the Disability Federation had any input into the review? Does Mr. Dolan think it will genuinely replace the general allocation model and fund disability services in a better way than the current system? Mr. Dolan spoke earlier about spreadsheet planning for the provision of services, particularly for adults, and I totally appreciate the point he made. Does he feel that the strategy announced earlier this year will provide a road map, or are we still floundering around with regard to genuine provision of services? Finally, does Mr. Dolan believe that we should change how we deliver the services and actually ensure that individual services users own the particular budget or grant, as opposed to our giving the funds to the service providers? If we were to allow individuals to decide where to spend their money in accessing particular services, would that radically overhaul how services are delivered in this country? Would such a change be for the better or for the worse?