Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I shall be very parochial and direct my questions at the Donegal team. Interestingly, the Donegal team is a national team that is based in Letterkenny. The model is very good. It proves not everything must be based in Dublin and, therefore, should be considered for use elsewhere

The presentation outlined everything and was very worthwhile. As Ms Leonard said, there is no stigma, no shame and no blame in dealing with these issues, which is a vitally important message. As the HSE and the Department of Health will understand, the initiative will save money. I know that is the reality especially from sitting on local health forums every couple of months where we discuss the delays in discharging people from hospitals and ways to get people out of hospital. The initiative will save money and free up beds, which is vitally important.

I ask the Chairman, on behalf of the committee, to start a conversation by writing to the HSE and the Department of Health outlining the two tasks suggested by the Alcohol Forum. I mean the establishment of a multidisciplinary cross-directorate national working group to tackle alcohol abuse and ensure there are clinical guidelines for diagnosing foetal alcohol spectrum disorders, FASD.