Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for being late again this week. I caught some of the meeting on the monitor upstairs and I met Ms Geraghty with the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, when she visited Cork. I do not know if that was earlier this year or last year but it seems like a long time ago. I was convinced that day when I met AADI of the positive impact that using animals such and dogs and horses can have on regularising the behaviour of young people in particular.

I am conscious that a number of my questions may have been asked so I will try to ask some that have not been asked. Obviously, these placement dogs do not live forever. If someone is lucky enough to get a dog from AADI and the dog is lost during a placement with a family, is the dog replaced for the person's life or how does the model work? My second question for Ms Geraghty is about referrals. Are dogs allocated on a case-by-case basis through an assessment of who needs the dog most or are they allocated by lottery? How are dogs allocated to families? I will come back to AADI about funding later as that is one of the crucial issues it is here to discuss.

I will ask the representative of the Liskennett Equine Therapy Centre about the therapies the centre provides. I am aware of a lady in Whitechurch who provides a service. Are these therapies prescribed? Perhaps that is the wrong word. Are they covered by the HSE as part of someone's service plan? If not, would the introduction of personalised budgets, or something like that, to give people a choice of therapies be helpful in accessing the centre's services?