Frank Fahey (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

Amendment No. 15 would require assessment reports to contain a priority list of services and the timing for their delivery. The principle contained in the Bill is that an assessment report would set out all required services and indicate the order in which they will be provided, together with optimal timescales for their delivery. I am not convinced that the proposed amendment would improve arrangements for assessment and service delivery and therefore I do not propose to accept it.

Section 8(7) outlines the contents of assessment reports, while paragraph (b)(iv) requires that the assessment report specifies the timeframe for a review. Amendment No. 16 would instead require that the report outlines unmet service needs and dates for review of the assessment to be no more than one year apart. The legislation already provides for full assessment and the timing of the reviews will be guided by the assessment report.

Section 8(7)(b)(iv) specifies that each assessment report will set out the period within which the review of the assessment will take place. The applicant can initiate a further assessment in certain circumstances under section 9(8) where there is a material change of circumstances or a material mistake of fact or where further information becomes available relating to personal circumstances. Following on from consultations early last year with the DLCG, the Government decided to expand the legislative proposals then in preparation to encompass a review of each individual service statement at suitable intervals. In response to calls for greater clarity in this regard in the Dáil on Second Stage, I tabled a number of amendments in the Dáil that changed the legislation so it clearly specifies there must be a review of the services being provided as a result of the service statement. Details of the arrangements for this process will be set out in the regulations under section 27.