Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

My question relates to Valproate. Does the Minister have the Valproate response project report on his desk? Has he been in contact with OACS Ireland and Epilepsy Ireland about this? I asked him before about a public inquiry into this. Is he still open to an independent inquiry or investigation into the prescribing of Valproate, given the teratogenic effects of it were widely known, even back to the 1970s, as well as the increased risk of foetal anticonvulsant syndrome around it. I am asking about an inquiry into who knew what when, and why it continued to be prescribed when there was so much evidence worldwide on the impact it might have.

I have a question for the Minister of State, Deputy McGrath, in regard to the transition period - I do not want to say handover period - for service users going from Western Care to Praxis Care. What is the protocol around the transition period? I have concerns around this. How do we ensure the organisations to which we are signing over the budget have the capacity, and have done their recruitment and everything else, to have the services and supports in place? The Minister of State knows that, for the condition of autism, routine and familiarity are so important. I am concerned that new teams are going in and there is no transition period, so there is no time for the service user to get used to the new practices or that can be done in a way that is streamlined.