David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)

The Bill seems to demand that we have two separate people doing the two separate jobs. This means a person with a disability will have to interact with two separate people although one person could, quite reasonably, do both. Under the law, the assessment would be carried out impartially and objectively. The liaison work would also have to be carried out as laid out in the legislation.

This Bill has been criticised for its cumbersome administrative framework. We are all concerned about this and Deputy Lynch expressed this concern extremely well. We all have experience of bureaucracy feeding on itself. I am not finding fault with the people involved but once one sets up a bureaucracy with different layers, one is invariably creating circumstances in which an increasing number of people will be writing and sending reports to each other and doing extra, unnecessary work although one person could do it all. One person could become familiar with the case of a disabled person rather than having a second person become involved also. We are creating a monster for which there is no need. I will be pressing my amendment. The amendments we have discussed are reasonable. We need only one needs officer to interact with the disabled person.

I will ask the Minister of State once more a question that I have asked him three times but which he has not answered. How is the liaison officer supposed to reconcile the needs of the person with the resource constraints? The legislation spells out no criteria for doing so. Is there any answer to my question or is it just a sticky wicket which the Minister of State is glossing over? The issue is important. Much discretion and many powers of delegation are left to the liaison officer. The budget exists, it is a moveable feast and we do not know how the process will work. People are concerned about this. I intend to press my amendment.

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