Ms Magdalen Rogers:

I will give my initial remarks and then I will bring in the two member organisations here today: MS Ireland and An Saol. On the question about whether this is a good strategy overall, the answer is yes. Is some of it being implemented? Yes. Are there gaps? Yes. The main gaps at the moment are in in-patient neurorehabilitation beds but also, very significantly, and my two member organisations here today would speak in detail to this, we have a gap in long-term rehabilitation which comes under the national neurorehabilitation strategy, but rehabilitation does not end at the hospital door. Rehabilitation does not end after 12 weeks of a community neurorehabilitation team.

While those services are absolutely vital and the community teams the Minister of State, Anne Rabbitte, has put in place are a game changer in terms of community neurorehabilitation, there is a life lived, as Mr. Schäler said, with these conditions. I would like my colleagues from An Saol and MS Ireland to outline for the committee what the long-term rehabilitation piece is and the gaps that exist because that is where we see a significant gap and a commitment in the strategy that still remains to be implemented.