Tony Kett (Fianna Fail)

If one is prescriptive about what constitutes a personal social service, as Senator Terry's amendment advocates, one must then include everything. If one does not do this and leaves something out, then it will be assumed that the service is not covered by the Bill. For instance, under social services one can include counselling, social clubs, holidays, respite breaks as distinct from respite care and even parent and toddler groups. There are many areas where social interaction takes place which could be named, if one decides to go down the naming route. It is better to leave the wording as it is in the Bill to allow for all services to be considered, rather than being prescriptive because if a service is omitted it might be deemed not to be a social service at all.