Ms Ava Battles:

To be fair, that is what the community and voluntary sector do best. If one takes the example of Epilepsy Ireland, or MS Ireland, those organisations work with the person in the community. Where most individuals would have no idea how to go about filling in a grant application, the community worker has filled out at least 50 of them and knows exactly what one has to do to ensure that the application is granted. They work with people who have been diagnosed, whether from a psychological point of view, whether the individual needs counselling or physiotherapy and they are signposting to the HSE and engaging with the various different organisations.