Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome all of the witnesses and I am delighted that we are talking about this issue. I have been raising many questions in this area for some time, including some weeks ago in the Dáil with the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, who accused me of frightening people. What we have heard today justifies my raising of the issue. I have also tabled a number of specific parliamentary questions. I will not embarrass the Minister of State by the referring to the fact that no information was received in response. We had an example of the real problems that exist in the first five minutes of today's meeting.

The issues in this sector are coming to a head due to the report that has been carried out. I believe this is a crisis, which is one of the greatest crises facing healthcare in this country. It has been suggested that these organisations provide ancillary services but that is not the case; they provide essential services. I have been fighting for two years on behalf of a young man from Waterford to get him full-time residential care. That has not happened because there are no services to be found for him. That is a crisis for him and his family. No funding is available to provide the required services for him because the package needed would probably cost €250,000. That is just one example. When we break this issue down to individuals and how they are affected, I have an image in my head of that young man.

I will ask some specific questions because what happens at this committee is monitored closely by the Department of Health and the HSE. They need to start paying attention to what is happening here. Some of the staff in the HSE, in particular, are excellent people. Off the record, those people will admit that they know that this cannot go on. How I do I know that? They tell me the same thing. This situation has to come to head and, hopefully, this meeting will facilitate that happening. We cannot go on the way we are. I have some specific questions on the deficits. How much is the total deficit? I know this will be a matter of guesstimates to some extent, but how much do the witnesses reckon is the total deficit in the sector? I refer to the deficit in funding for current services right now in June 2019. I have heard the figure of €30 million mentioned. Is that accurate?