Mr. Pat Healy:

Progressing well. We mentioned in the director general’s opening statement that, following on a broadcast earlier in the year, a question arose. The voluntary provider she was with, reflecting on this set of circumstances being aired at the time, looked back on the situation in the past and felt particular matters might be looked at. It submitted them to the HSE and to HIQA.

We have carried out an investigation of that to be sure there was not anything, and as of today that report has just concluded. We have not fully assessed it yet but the indication to us, as outlined in the director general's statement, is that there was nothing untoward in that. The extra mile was gone to carry out an investigation and so on, just to be complete in all of that. That covers the position up to date regarding Ann, and she is progressing very well at the service she is in now.

With regard to the funding side of it, as I mentioned, when one goes back on the records, one can see it was a feature of the child care services. There are two years of records. We were not able to identify the others. However, clearly the family were being provided with the equivalent of foster care allowance up to the time that it stopped in 1995. From that time on the State was providing support to the individual through what was DPMA and is now the disability allowance, and that continued. That is the situation regarding the finances.