Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State and her the team in the Department. There is huge unmet need and a capacity issue. Following on from the Minister of State's response to Deputy Wynne's points, some of the section 38 and 39 organisations are coming to the State and to the HSE with ideas on ways of meeting the unmet need. They are meeting the families and parents in communities that are looking for respite and other therapies and are looking to develop or expand their services. They meet the HSE and outline their plans but the HSE goes away again and unless it is vigorously pursued by the service provider or someone acting on the provider's behalf, the idea disappears into the ether. In terms of the unmet need, some communities or individuals would come to the HSE with ideas that would not cost a lot of money. The difficulty I see is that there is no real urgency. There are some very innovative things that could be done to address the chronic shortage of respite places.

If one looks at residential places for people with very profound needs, a lot of that is being farmed out to private companies and private providers at this stage. It is going to cost the State continuously and we are going to be paying more for it. It does not seem to be good value for money. I will not go into specifics but I am dealing with a family in the south of Ireland who have been given a placement in another province.

I know the Minister of State and her officials are very earnest about their work but surely they understand the level of unmet need and the challenges that exist. There does not seem to be an urgency when ideas are put before the HSE or the Department.

On the transport issue, I was heartened by the response from the Minister of State. It came up three or four times this week with various Ministers but a whole-of-government approach is needed. Does the Minister of State think a conclusion will be reached on that in the short term?

The Minister of State spoke about the culture and attitude. Does she think it is changing? As I speak, I see that a vote has been called in the Dáil.