Dr. Joanne McCarthy:

I will summarise what we are saying here today. It is important to emphasise that we are looking for an appropriate funding stream to enhance the capacity of PA services. Our colleagues in the Irish Wheelchair Association have estimated that the provision of 500,000 extra hours would enable almost 500 people to receive an additional 20 hours of assistance per week. This has been costed at €12.5 million, which is not a huge amount given that the total budget for disability services is €1.7 billion. The DFI is asking the committee to pay attention to the critical systems and systemic changes that are required to make the PA service a robust one. We are seeking a common or shared definition of "PA services" across the system - in health, education or employment - so that the role of such services can be better understood. We are calling for the introduction of a standardised assessment process that would create the right to access PA services across sectors like health, education and employment.

We are also asking the committee to pay attention to the huge anomalies in the data, which I have not had a chance to include in this presentation. Much of our information on unmet need is out of date and does not truly quantify the level of need that exists. I encourage the committee to consider how best to invest in data-gathering that enables us to truly plan for the delivery and enhancement of services.

The final point I would like to make is that greater investment will require greater oversight. There is a need to ensure, as part of the oversight process, that the independence which is a critical part of the governance of PA services, and enables people to live lives that include risk-taking as part of daily life, is not snuffed out. I have set out our key points.