Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I was not expecting that level of detail. I thank the Minister and the Minister of State for that. I do not want to spend too much time on one specific school because it is probably not appropriate when we are dealing with the overall Estimates. Even if, however, a lump sum of money is allocated to allow a principal to access therapies effectively from the private sector if the school cannot get access to people from the HSE system, it is very important the HSE is involved in the approval of that process to make sure the quality of the therapies is consistent with what would be expected of a HSE-funded occupational therapist, physiotherapist, speech and language therapist - whatever the therapist may be. To expect a principal to be able to make those judgment calls when he or she is not an expert in the therapies themselves would be unfair. Whether the HSE has the capacity to actually recruit and provide the therapists who have been promised or whether it is a temporary outsourcing arrangement, either way the HSE has to be involved in the approval process in ensuring standards and consistency. I think the committee understands the frustration as regards the schools concerned, in respect of which, to be fair, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, has been extraordinarily energetic in trying to find solutions, and I thank her for that.

As regards the general point I made about disability services, we may be spending €3 billion going into next year but we still have a long way to go in getting where we want to be in terms of supports for families and individuals with disabilities. That is an area where, for a country that has the resources we have available to us, we need to do a lot better, but the funding has dramatically improved in recent years. We still have a road to travel, I am afraid.