Ms Magdalen Rogers:

I want to come back in on the prioritisation piece. Sitting where the committee members are sitting, I would be asking the same questions. I point out that neurorehabilitation in Ireland is starting from a very low base. While we have seen great progress in community neurorehabilitation teams, we are still at the bottom of Europe with regard to rehabilitation consultants and services that people take for granted in other countries throughout Europe. We really have to look at this. The neurorehabilitation strategy was published in 2019 and five years on, there is still so much to do. We are not just looking at next year but at planning beyond that to continue that investment in neurorehabilitation services.

We have highlighted today that great work is being done in the community neurorehabilitation teams and there is definitely a piece around inpatient beds and the long-term neurorehabilitation that the organisations provide. However, one really important message that we would like the committee to take away today is that the voluntary sector needs to see itself in the neurorehabilitation strategy. We are part of the implementation of that strategy. The committee has heard today how the organisations are stepping up to the mark in so many parts of the country. This is not starting from scratch. Organisations are already providing the services but what we need is consistency. If an organisation is providing a service in one part of the country, why is it not being facilitated when there is a clear need to provide that in another part of the country? It is not just about year-on-year prioritisation and is very much about looking at the infrastructure of neurorehabilitation and how we build that up to get to where we need to be.