Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Thank you Chair. I thank Senator McGreehan for letting me in. I have tabled a question on the optional protocol ratification, which is due to be taken in five minutes in the Dáil. I do not need any responses back at this stage, but I thank the witnesses.

I have been listening to them all morning. What keeps coming up is that it is about rights. What has also come up is that we have a lot of rules and regulations, but the implementation or the pipeline gets clogged or someone sends it down a different avenue. It all comes down to different sections within the Department of Health, whether mental health, disabilities or others, competing for funding. That is why my colleague, Deputy Verona Murphy, tabled a question in the Dáil. I will be taking that question for her later today. We are asking for a procedure for people who are not receiving services or whose rights are not being vindicated by means of which they can challenge the State to ensure that there is delivery in this regard. I will work with the witnesses to ensure we have a system whereby people are treated equally and their rights are upheld.

I saw the examples Mr. McGrath or someone else gave someone being in a bed and breakfast and another person who could not live at home or whatever. Sadly, until we get the accommodation right, we will still have people in congregated settings and long-term homes where they should not be. At the moment ,1,300 people under 65 years of age are in homes. A major body of work needs to be done, and money will be required to do it. Mental health and disabilities should be removed from the Department of Health and the funding relating to them should also be removed in order that we know exactly what is being allocated. Someone described the current situation as a percentage of the overall budget being allocated. That is all they are, a percentage. We do not know what is in them. The committee has work to do to highlight that issue.