Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am extremely disappointed to say the least. The Minister and her officials have taken an entrenched position and are not even prepared to think about this issue. We must look from 2005 at the return the State the gained from its investment, whether in Tusla, the health promotion grant available from the Department of Health or the north-west regional drugs and alcohol task force. I suggest to the Minister that she consider meeting a representative group from ParentStop. She is the lead Minister who could communicate with the other Departments involved and pull everything together. She says Tusla is committed to commissioning and developing supports for parents and deeply regrets this decision. It is not being taken by ParentStop; rather, it is being made for it because the various State agencies have withdrawn funding. Tusla states it must ensure its resources are assigned where they will have the most benefit and that the funding of services is informed by its commissioning approach. It also states it seeks to fund services in the most beneficial, effective, efficient, proportionate and sustainable manner. That statement is an insult to ParentStop which is stating the converse, namely, that it is not able to ensure it can operate in an efficient, proportionate and sustainable manner. It is totally insulting. As the Minister is fair, I ask her to make a start and meet as soon as possible, after the break next week, if there is to be one, with about three people from the organisation. Perhaps she might invite somebody from the Department of Health, Tusla and the other agencies to attend to try to pull all of this together. I ask her to take the initiative. She cannot do any more than that tonight. A sum of €100,000 to €120,000 is needed, not all of which would come from Tusla. Other agencies could make contributions. It could be a pilot project that could be rolled out throughout the rest of the country. It has proved so successful and it is disheartening if we are not able to proceed with it.

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