Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, to the committee and commend him on the work he has undertaken.

Like Deputy Cassells, I want to begin with the critical issue of accessibility. If we analyse the people who we engage with in our offices and in our communities, the issue of isolation and connectivity arises regularly. I am a bit confused by the Minister of State, Deputy McGrath's presentation. On page 2, it states: "Since the closure of the scheme the Government has directed that the HSE should continue to pay an equivalent monthly payment to these 4,700 individuals." Is that continuing?

Am I correct that the motorised transportation grant is a once off payment of €5,200? Is it correct that the purchase or adaptation of a car is not affected for a person who may need to have their car converted? The Minister of State referred to VAT, VRT, diesel and tags. Can he clarify that please?

The Minister of State also spoke about the whole issue of ideas. I do not want it to seem as if Deputy Cassells and I are joined at the hip, but this is about full participation by people in society. This is something we have to do a huge amount of work on in the area of disability, and I know the Minister of State is prioritising that aspect. Equally as important and linked to that is the issue of respite care beds and emergency respite care. I am digressing from what we are talking about today, but we need to have a real conversation about the issue of respite care and emergency respite care beds. I referred to the issue of the Ombudsman and HIQA at the last meeting. Has there been any engagement with HIQA about how we can have a common sense approach to emergency respite care? We all want to see good standards and have people living in pristine quality conditions, in many cases in their homes, but is there a half way house where we could reach an accommodation on respite care? It is an issue that is not going away. It is growing, and the demands are high in many parts of the country.

Are the savings that have been made in this scheme being spent in any particular area, or to where are they being directed?