Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is a broad issue. The Minister of State suggests there is a natural follow-on from the care provided by the Jack & Jill Children's Foundation with very little State subvention when one considers the amount of work done by the foundation. The €630,000 it received in 2013 is a small percentage and a far smaller percentage than sums made available to many section 38 organisations. There is not the sort of follow-on from the HSE described by the Minister of State because, time and time again, we hear from the Jack & Jill Children's Foundation and at our clinics from parents of children with these life limiting conditions that the expected continuity of care, which we aspire to, does not happen. That I must come onto the floor of the House and instance these examples is proof positive that the system the Minister of State aspires to is not working.

I heard the Minister of State speak eloquently about the problems with senior citizens in hospital while awaiting stepdown facilities. There is a major cost to the Exchequer and the health services in meeting the demands of older people. These children's needs are so complex that for them to remain in hospital involves expenditure far in excess of anything that might be spent meeting the needs of older people. From an economic perspective, we all have a vested interest in ensuring the objective of the parents, which is to care for the children at home, is realised.

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