Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will come back on that. Again, this is breaking new ground, to be fair to the Minister. It is a very good start but we will revisit it.

Deputy Bacik raised the issue of funding for Acquired Brain Injury Ireland. I will look at that. It does fantastic work and I think it needs multi-annual funding. I have visited the organisation on many occasions. I believe it should also benefit from the cost-of-living package the Minister has announced for voluntary and community organisations. My understanding is the HSE provides some funding to it on a continuous basis but I will come back to the Deputy on that.

Deputy Boyd Barrett raised the issue of the cost of disability. We provided a once-off payment in the budget in terms of the cost of living but the wider issue is the need for a more sustainable multi-annual cost-of-disability premium.

Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan has been consistent in raising the point about the ECCE-only provision being a disadvantage to other childcare providers. It is a very fair point and I will pursue it with the Minister.

The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has engaged on the issue raised by Deputy Murnane O'Connor and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform is open to further measures that might help. The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, announced a once-off cost-of-living payment to foster parents from now until the end of the year but more needs to be done. I take the Deputy's point that there has been no increase since 2007.

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