Mr. John Dunne:

Not automatically. The statutory framework will presumably define a set of entitlements. There is no statutory basis for any sort of carer's support or home care. We would have to go out on a limb with bits of the Health Act, 2004, to come up with a statutory basis. The new legislation will be clearer around that but it always will be subject to resources. There will be this consistent legal framework and it will then feed out. By the time the legislation is enacted, presumably we will be RICOs and we will have forgotten about CHOs and hospital groups. Presumably there will be about six RICOs around the country, each of which will have a chief officer whose job is to balance the budget against the demands and resources and all that will have changed is that there will be a more standardised set of requirements but the decision will still have to be made.

I refer to the legacy issue. If there are 1,000 home care workers employed, by definition there will be more home care work done than an organisation that also has 1,000 physiotherapists because they will help with the work. Therefore, the legacy spending patterns will also help to shape this. This is about system and policy and not about picking out an individual and saying that person is trying to cause trouble. It is about understanding the system does not work and then how it might be changed but there will be a limit to how consistent it will be as long as there are regional bodies.