Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. Deputies raised the issue of assessment of needs. I know we have a very big problem with waiting times for that. We all know it from our constituency clinics. The real struggle is finding enough clinically and appropriately qualified staff to carry out the assessments and provide all of the therapies. There are some big recruitment campaigns under way. Money has been set aside for them. Hopefully, it will make a real difference. It also demonstrates the pitfalls that can arise from putting certain rights in law. Unfortunately, this is an example of where a right put into law has not resulted in a right on the ground or in reality. Rather, it has led to people working in the disability sector spending their time trying to settle cases instead of providing better services and some budgets that would have otherwise been spent on services being diverted to damages. It is a pitfall we will have to take into account when people call for other rights to be put into law. Just putting a right into law does not mean it actually happens; not at all. That is not how it works, unfortunately.

On the SET model, I am advised that it makes an allocation based on a number of inputs, including enrolment numbers. Children with complex needs are recognised in the model by using school-level data from standardised tests to reflect the relative levels of overall need. The model seeks to distribute teaching resources in the fairest possible manner, taking into account as much evidence as possible in respect of individual schools and evidence in respect of possible use of resources. The standardised test results identify pupils who achieve below the average and may require some degree of additional teaching support. These are consistent and reliable indicators to identify additional learning need, particularly for those with the highest level of need.

On reimbursement of medicines, I am not sure I will be able to set up a task force in the next couple of weeks but I promise Deputy O'Sullivan that it is something on which we can perhaps work together. It is something I have been sincere about for a long time but I have not managed to unlock whatever the problem is. I will keep an interest in it because I do not understand or accept why any patient who needs a medicine that is available publicly in Britain or another similar jurisdiction cannot have it here. I think they should have them.

On Deputy Murphy's question, as I said earlier, our Constitution has been with us since 1937. It is clear. It is the people's document. The rules are there in black and white. The Taoiseach is elected by the Dáil, the Government is elected by the Dáil and the Dáil is elected by the people. The reason we have the current Government is not because of some sort of plot or conspiracy theory; it is because the parties in the Government - Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party - won 51% of the vote. That is why we are the Government. An election will happen within the next year.

On the Green Paper on disability payment reform, to be very clear, it is just a Green Paper for discussion, debate and consultation. It is not a set of proposals as of yet and is not an effort to reduce benefits, make savings or ape the welfare reforms in the UK. It is quite the opposite. We have introduced new benefits and increased benefits over the course of the past seven years.

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