Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am in regular contact with both the service providers through the Disability Federation of Ireland, which is a good organisation that represents its members well, and the HSE. The executive has been instructed to keep me informed on a weekly basis, which is happening. We do not have the completed plan yet. We need to be careful about what we say, as I have been both in opposition and in government, because families are wondering what will happen to their children in the future and I am conscious of that. Last year, we managed to deal with the issue. We secured €4 million in additional funding this year. It is not as if we have endless budgets but we are about to enter talks with the Department of Education and Skills, which spends €1.3 billion a year on special needs education.

My Department allocates €1.4 billion per year to disability services, the area for which I have responsibility. Between us, we should be able to provide a service that does not induce the type of anxiety some people are currently experiencing, but both Departments need to work together to devise a realistic plan. The existing level of funding is sufficient to provide a service on which people can rely.

See this speech in context