Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I hope the Chairman will forgive me if my question does not relate directly to the subhead. The additional increase of 4%, giving a total net increase of 8%, is welcome. My question relates to the sanctioning by Tusla of privately provided services for families such as occupational or speech and language therapy. My understanding is Tusla has put in place a new central procurement process for the provision of these services and that it is managed in Dublin. Will the Minister clarify whether the timeline in the provision of these services and being paid for them is short? I have heard of one case and I am trying to determine whether it is systematic where services have been provided for a family but Tusla is returning to court to seek a determination on whether the services should continue. Not only are there legal costs involved, there is also a delay in making payments for the supply of services such as occupational and speech and language therapy. There is the issue of whether the tendering and procurement process has become overly centralised, leading to people and families living in the regions - I refer to Cork in this instance - being affected by a new structure that has resulted in services not being provided for children. On the subhead, the issue concerns the cost of procurement and the provision of services, the delay in paying the service providers and the fact that Tusla is seeking a court direction on a case by case basis on the continuity of services such as occupational and speech and language therapy. Is the case to which I refer systematic? What are the consequences for service provision for individual children?

I seek an insight from the Minister in respect of the legal costs that accrue to Tusla for family services and the family support programme, whether services are being provided in a timely fashion, whether payment to those providing the services is processed efficiently, whether the added legal layer is eating into the Department's overall budget and the necessity of seeking court direction in certain cases as that aspect is confusing to me. I seek an insight from the Minister and an understanding of the process.