Ms Miriam Moffitt:

No. The fee is paid by the HSE. The cost of care for my daughter, who has extremely complex physical and intellectual needs, is €33,000 per annum. My daughter is not unique in this regard. In the community she is in, there are 24 people. The fee in respect of 18 of those 24 people is €38,000 per annum or less. There are 15 people in respect of whom the cost of care on an annual basis is €33,000. This cannot continue. It has been maintained up until now through our reserves. Two years ago, we had a nest egg of over €250,000. That is gone. We do not know how we are going to pay wages into the future. Peter and Paul are well robbed at this stage.