Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I thank all the witnesses for appearing here today. I thank Mr. Grogan and Mr. Schäler for sharing their personal stories. I know it is difficult to do and it should not have to be done but I can understand why they would do so. I thank everyone for the fantastic work they do. I have had contact from constituents who have an acquired brain injury due to a stroke or other injury. They tell me that they got excellent acute care and had a good experience in the National Rehabilitation Hospital and were lucky enough to be able to go home, not to a nursing home. However, then there was nothing. This lack of follow-up leads to regression. It has led to family breakdown and mental health issues because the supports are not available in the community. People might need physiotherapy. Mr. Schäler spoke about people being abandoned in nursing homes over the years and being turned once or twice a day. That is a living hell for people. It is outrageous that this could happen in Ireland.

I presume the neuromapping project seeks to locate exactly where people are and what services they need. This needs to be done to ensure that the service being provided is adequate. The strategy, which has been praised by the witnesses, has been in place for a while. Why has it not been effective? Is it all about funding or is it because of a lack of staff? It has been four or five years since the framework for implementation was put in place. The witnesses have said that things are improving but will they give us an overview of where it is at now, where it needs to get to and what is required to get it there?

If rehabilitation is not available, there can be costs for hospital or nursing home care. Has anyone done any research on the costs of not having rehabilitation available? It would be interesting to know how much could be saved by having the proper services. People have a right to dignity and the UNCRPD is all about that. We should be ensuring that people are able to live their best lives. If the strategy were to be implemented tomorrow, what would the priorities be to make things better immediately? I know it is going to take time to build on those things.