Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply but will take him up on something he said towards the end of his comments. He said the decision to proceed with the purchase of the house was made independent of the HSE. I view that as the Talbot Group taking the lead and the initiative by seeing that there was a requirement and then establishing the facility having recognised the need for it. Talbot Group has listened to the voices of people on the ground in Athboy. I know those families and I listen to them every week because my constituency office is half a mile down the road from this facility. The families are frustrated because they see a fully-equipped facility that could assist many families. If a change of attitude is not taken, it will only assist a small number of families.

I refer to the final points made by the Minister of State, namely, that there will be an attempt to seek additional funding for this. The Minister of State has said he will try to assist with that. Can we get assurances that, if such funding was acquired, there would be a pathway to see this developed as a respite service? Could we give the Talbot Group some indicative assurances that the Minister of State would personally like to see that happen, notwithstanding that he has to go through the process of budgets and so on? Can he assure us, as Minister of State, that this is a type of care that he backs and that, if additional funding is attained, it can be ring-fenced and apportioned to establish this respite service? Can I get assurance from the Minister of State that he backs this concept and that, if additional funding was to come into his pathway, that this could be established as a respite service to look after those 70 families at Oatfield House in Athboy?

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