Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I know the Minister of State, Deputy English, is just here to pass on the message and that he has no direct responsibility, but the message follows the normal pattern. Three quarters of it explains what we know already and then we get to the meat of it, but really there is no meat there.

One of the more shocking things the Minister of State said is that the 2019 HSE national service plan has not yet been published. This is now 13 December and 2019 begins on 1 January but we have no plan yet from the HSE. We know that once we get the plan, it has to all trickle down to the bottom line. This is just bad administration. We are then told that there are studies going on. To be honest, parents do not want studies, they just want GAP to continue doing what it does with a small amount of money. I do not see anywhere in the reference to action in the Minister of State's reply that gives me hope, such as the human service provided by GAP. There is no evidence in the Minister of State's response of the very things the parents and children want, and which they have begged us to give to them, which are the supports and somebody to telephone when a child or parent is down and feeling low or challenged. I hate to have to say that.

Will the Minister of State, Deputy English, bring the message back that Galway wants this voluntary service that has been run on a shoestring? The partnership will continue to run on a shoestring but will the Department give it enough money to keep it open?

See this speech in context