Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)

I join with my colleagues in welcoming the response. I do not want to be petulant but I will ask again about the three representatives bodies. Who will they be and what criteria will be used to select them? Given that a myriad of organisations represent some but not all parents of children with particular disabilities, we need to ensure the three NGOs chosen and the relevant people within the NGOs are representative of the people who have gone through the review process. I will not name any of the NGOs and I hope I am making sense. Otherwise, we will learn nothing except how it should be in a textbook. The reality of what people live through and the current description of the review process are poles apart. The merits of the review are marvellous. I concur with Deputy Ann Phelan that the Minister for Social Protection is incredibly brave for doing this as a response to the issues raised over the past couple of months. It is imperative that this is worthwhile and that, at the end of the process, people who walk the walk get to sit down and devise a new review process to make life easier for people in the future.

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