Ms Lucianne Bird:

I will make a very quick comment. We have developed Quest Brain Injury Services in County Galway, which is funded through HSE community healthcare organisation, CHO, 2. It offers a tremendous step-down facility for people with acquired brain injury, stroke, accident trauma or whatever. We offer a service to 67 people for less than €300,000 per year. That model could be replicated across the different CHO areas, although it is underfunded at that level, quite frankly. It could be replicated, however. It offers a range of multidisciplinary supports to which we have access. It is not huge access but there is access to speech and language therapy. We have psychology and occupational therapy built into the model. We have employment access and people who work as job coaches with people. People have access then to the opportunity to acquire qualifications. We support people to attend the University of Galway, Atlantic Technological University and all the third level facilities. It is, therefore, a very innovative, effective and cost-effective model. That could be rolled out across every CHO to provide the kinds of supports about which the Deputy asked. It would ensure that people coming from the National Rehabilitation Hospital have a step-down facility and model that would cushion the move from that intensive therapeutic to tertiary therapeutic intervention in the community. That is something that could be considered as a very cost-effective and immediate response to that question.