Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I had asked the Taoiseach about the high level oversight board for the zero tolerance strategy but I know he is appearing before the Joint Committee on Gender Equality, that I chair, tomorrow so we can address that further then. I am grateful to the Taoiseach for his engagement with our committee and for his engagement on the implementation of the 45 recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly on Gender Equality. I know all of us on the committee look forward to our engagement tomorrow with the Taoiseach.

I wish to raise a separate urgent matter regarding funding for Acquired Brain Injury Ireland, an organisation that provides vital supports to many survivors of brain injury. The current dormant accounts funding measures to support the employment of people with disabilities programme runs up to the end of 2022 but Acquired Brain Injury Ireland has received no formal update on what will happen to its service, particularly to the Step Ahead Plus programme, a specialist neuro service working nationwide with brain injury survivors in their return to work, education and training. Bodies like this need a commitment to multi-annual funding to ensure they can keep their highly skilled staff and crucially, to ensure brain injury survivors will retain access to vital services that enable them to return to work or access education. I am asking for a commitment that Acquired Brain Injury Ireland be guaranteed funding to continue to provide its vital service beyond the end of 2022.

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