Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

One need not be a genius to figure out that while demand for this service is going up and the number of hours are going down, the Government is contributing to the problem. I asked the Minister some fairly specific questions and I also pointed out to him that the number of hours is decreasing while the demand is going up. That is not due to one, two or three individuals. That is due to a failure by the Government to treat these people with any sort of decency and respect.

The family got a meeting with the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, after they had been on the Sean O'Rourke show, just as the Devereaux family had their case dealt with after they had been on Joe Duffy's show. What are we to do? RTE can only provide so much of an outlet. We can only put so much pressure on. These people need action. They should not have to go to RTE.

These people are watching this discussion and are listening to what the Minister is saying. He is not offering them anything other than platitudes and that is an insult to the Dooleys and to the thousands of people who are now facing into a summer of desperation because they cannot access respite care for their loved ones.

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