Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)

The Deputy's first question veered into another area, so the response to that is in the written reply.

I am having pre-Estimate discussions with the Ministers for public expenditure and Finance for the upcoming budget. What we all need to see is an increase in the budget and support for our day, respite and residential services right across the country to ensure that there is a good geographical spread and that, no matter where one is living, access to the disability services one requires is not based on a postcode lottery. That will require capital and current spending.

Regarding the CDNTs, we are examining recruitment and retention and means to incentivise therapists, for example, to work within our CNDTs.

The Deputy mentioned a number of projects within the Cavan-Monaghan area that were referenced in my reply. This is about ensuring we are dealing directly with the HSE but also with service users and those with lived experience on the ground to ensure they get access to respite and day services. Some of these projects will take time, and perhaps a phased basis, but the Deputy can be assured of my commitment to rolling this out. I look forward to working with him on these projects.

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