Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is funny that Senator Clonan mentions Australia, as I met with the Australian minister and the minister from New Zealand at the United Nations conference on disability in New York. We had conversations about what was working well over there and what we can learn. I travelled to the UN with many DPOs. The representatives of the disability sector in Ireland who were part of the conference were excellent.

We must ensure we get value for money. What I found when I came into the Department was that in order for me to deal with the Department of public expenditure I need to know the cost of a residential bed. We all know that we need to do more and invest more. I will pre-empt my budgetary negotiations: I will be increasing the budget for disability. We must also make sure that we get value for money on the ground. For example, if we take the cost of a residential bed in Cavan, we need to know why it is different in Cork. We must also make sure we get value for money.