Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Until that was done, the Minister had not committed to it. Now he has committed to it, he will not tell me what is his estimate for provision for 2014. I do not expect him to tell me what it is next year because the Cabinet has not sat down to discuss it despite the fact that only four of them do so but I ask him to tell me what provision he has made for this year. He either has or has not made provision. I would imagine that he is obliged to tell the House what provision he has made as an estimate for this function this year. In the event of him not meeting the commitment in the estimate, can he then address an issue that is far more serious and about which we spoke earlier, namely, those less well-off and most vulnerable people, the disabled and those who do not have the clout that the Minister and many of his party have?

In the event of not meeting the commitment, can he make it available to the sector to which I refer, within the envelope of the Department's budget?

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