Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. As I said to him before, he will have our support and we will raise it in the budget negotiations. Respite care and residential placements are a priority. I know it is not easy, I know the residential places are very expensive, but this must be a priority. The Minister of State must also be familiar with individual cases. The human stories, whereby there are elderly parents struggling to just manage day by day with adult children who they love dearly but who have significant needs, are quite tragic. The parents concerned simply cannot meet those needs any longer. There is nowhere for them to go and no help for them. These people are lucky if they can get respite. I acknowledge that while respite is not available for everyone, the service providers are doing their best with the resources they have.

In a fair, decent and compassionate society, this issue must be a priority. I am not questioning the Minister of State's bona fides. He has political support, certainly from Fianna Fáil, in pressing the need for extra funding for residential placements in 2019. We will provide that support.

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