Mr. John Connaghan:

I will make a brief comment on residential care and mental health provision. I am aware of the case the Deputy mentioned in his remarks. The issue is how we do risk and needs assessments on an individual basis. The answer I sent back to the Deputy on that case applies generally. An assessment of the risk associated with each case is required to decide how we deploy that budget locally and individually, from what we have nationally. Whether that is right or wrong and whether we have the risk assessment right all the time remains to be seen and that is open to challenge and it should be challenged because if it is not right we need to fix it.

The second point to consider is what will demand be like in the future. How do we assess that demand and how can we make it much more responsive to the needs of the future? We do not want a hospital-based system; we want one that is based in the community. That is important for our future provision of care and the implementation of the Sláintecare plan.

I am keen that we give as much flexibility in decision-making within the budgets we have available not just to the staff involved in care but also their families.