Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

Some €643 million has been invested into support services for people with disabilities in the past few years. It would be regrettable if investment in the health boards, now the HSE, and resources for additional places, equipment and voluntary agencies resulted in excessive prices because of the extra money and opportunity to sell equipment. Deputy Kenny makes the point that the Competition Authority should examine this area. If agencies or a limited number of people are purchasing, it should conduct an examination.

The Rehabilitation Institute, the Central Remedial Clinic and the other organisations purchase directly and in many cases have the opportunity to buy in multiples. One would imagine they would pass the equipment on to individuals as would the HSE in its various regions. It would be interesting to see how their prices compare with those mentioned by Deputy Kenny. I do not know, but the information should be easily found.

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