Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As my colleague, Deputy Murphy O'Mahony stated, what RehabCare does for people on the ground is magnificent. It is in no small way a relief and a support for families. As we would say in Cavan-Monaghan, the Minister of State's response was watery. We have nothing tangible to take back to our families or to the management of RehabCare across Cavan-Monaghan. I appreciate that it may be difficult for the Minister of State to provide anything concrete ahead of that meeting tomorrow. However, I would ask that everything be done to ensure that these services continue and that there will be no break in the day service or the residential service. In recent times, people with disabilities and service users in places such as Steadfast House in Carrickmacross have been hit with ongoing charges in respect of their daily services, whether it be to get their bus or their lunch. There seems to be all these sneaky ways of introducing charges that take away from the little bit of social protection these people enjoy. I reiterate the point that RehabCare is providing a fantastic service and everything should be done to ensure that this continues.

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