John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)

I acknowledge the efforts the Minister of State has made in this area. I recently met with the Muiríosa Foundation. The work it does in this space is commendable and is very welcome in terms of the initiatives it is bringing forward, particularly to encourage individuals with a disability into the workplace, into education and into different services. There is an element of needing to ensure there is an adequate service there to meet that level of dependency. Local employers are providing a couple of hours of work a day to get people out of the house and give them a sense of routine. It is rewarding for more than just the individual who is receiving that opportunity to get into the workplace. We need to see more initiatives such as that. Everything we do in this space today will reassure those family members of the days in the future when they may not necessarily be around to look after them. I acknowledge the work the Minister of State has done, but the timeframe for assessment, such as psychiatric reports from doctors or otherwise, needs to be done in a timely manner. We need to continue to work on the services that we are providing.

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