Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The NGO concept is fine and good. I am curious as to how all of the organisations relate. There are NGOs on one hand, but the private sector provides home care in a lot of cases and should be under the umbrella of the coalition to co-ordinate the level and quality of services that could, should and might be available. It should also be recognised that there is a vast difference between the requirements of some householders as against others, some of whom who may need a friendship call daily, weekly or whatever the case may be. There needs to be ongoing contact. In the same way, for those who require a higher level of attention, that that is possible regardless of who is dealing with it, NGOs or whoever. There needs to be an organisation that has overall responsibility. We dealt with this back when I was a member of the Eastern Health Board. The gaps that existed then are still around, unfortunately.