Mr. Jim Breslin:

There is not. There has been such an acknowledgement in the replies to the questions the Senator has asked the Department and the HSE, as there has been during this meeting..

Another question concerns the cost of running the current service before unmet needs are addressed. The HSE would be in a better position to explain, but many of the issues that have been presented to it relate to the cost of the current service before additional clients are brought in. That is another issue that needs to be focused on. I do not fully subscribe to the fact that just because the value for money review took place some time ago, the job has been done. I ask the disability sector whether all of the recommendations made in the value for money review have been fully embraced and whether it has gone to the last to ensure it is as well organised as it can be in delivering current services. There were recommendations made in the value for money review that asked questions about that such as in respect of back-office arrangements and organisational overheads. There has been no transformation on that level. There has been incremental change. In fairness, some providers have made changes, but we have not moved decisively towards something that looks very different from when the recommendations were made in the value for money review. I would not say the job has been done. If the current cost of the service is cited, the HSE is quite entitled to ask what are the overheads that do not add value for the client and that could be met in a different and more efficient way such as by sharing services with another disability service provider or linkage with other disability service providers. There must be a two-way conversation. It simply cannot be the case that somebody presents a problem and somebody else solves it because that will not be possible.