Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

The potential for a personal advocacy service is huge, including one that is dedicated to people with disabilities that can focus on their needs. It is always the intention of the Government to introduce it. It is just that because of the budgetary situation, both last year and currently, it was not possible to go ahead with it. That is why we did not appoint the director. It is only on hold, however, until we get out of the current economic crisis. It was purely a budgetary decision not to go ahead at the moment, rather than a policy one.

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