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

I thank the Minister of State for her response. I commend her and the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, on their work in this area.

Is the Minister of State aware of what the unmet need is for personal assistance, PA, services in the country? Has any work been done on that by any agency, her Department or anyone else? We know how many hours are being provided, and I am delighted to see an increase, but what is the unmet need out there? The Irish Wheelchair Association says that work needs to be done on this, perhaps with the Central Statistics Office. Has that been done and are there any plans to do it? Is there a ring-fenced budget for the provision of personal assistance services to people? What is the budget for this particular service? I also ask the Minister of State to outline whether there is a standardised method of allocating hours throughout the country.

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