Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am responding on behalf of my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath. The Government is aware of the pressures on the disability sector in particular. A budget of €1.9 billion has been spent so far this year on the provision of services for people with disabilities. We all acknowledge that is not enough but there is not an endless pot of money available to us. As acknowledged by Deputy Michael Moynihan, there has been an additional €10 million investment this year in new respite facilities, not all of which have not come on stream. Most of them are at an advanced stage. This area continues to be a challenge and we will continue to try to meet that challenge as best we can. There is no silver bullet to the issue of demand.

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