David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I bring the Minister back to the issue of intellectual disability. He has not used that term yet and this is the focus here. This particular young woman has that challenge. She is very vulnerable. Physically she is fine. She loves life, loves fun and loves learning, but she cannot get from her home to her place of education safely, especially if it means changing buses or trains. Her parents want to know what will happen in September when she wants to go with her friends to this new centre. She cannot travel at the moment. The HSE has informed us it has no funding for this transport, nor have the Cope Foundation and others in Cork. As the Minister said, it is done on a discretionary basis, which is hit or miss. That is not good enough. Will the Minister commit to looking at this again before September to see if he can provide funding to the HSE, the Cope Foundation and-or other agencies to ensure a girl like Orla can achieve her potential and go to her place of further education.

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