Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister knows, it is a struggle for the parents of children with autism to obtain the services and support they need, even more so in the current climate of cutbacks. As such, it is utterly inexplicable that he would make the welcome announcement of an additional €3 million for the provision of these services only for us now to discover, through a freedom of information request, that only 10% of that funding has been allocated, all of it to Beechpark Services in the Minister's constituency in north Dublin. Why was that area prioritised, while others, where there is just as much need, have been left to wait? There are 138 people awaiting services in north Dublin, while 241 are on the waiting list for services provided by Beechpark Services in south and west Dublin. Will the Minister explain the anomaly, whereby north Dublin, although undoubtedly in need of funding, was given priority in the provision of services over areas in the city?

These questions have greater strength given the debacle over the issue of primary care centres in the Minister's constituency and how two were bumped up from an original list, which led to the resignation of the former Minister of State. The Minister has to answer the question of whether he is the Minister for Health or the Minister for north Dublin.

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