Sheila Terry (Fine Gael)

I am disappointed the Minister of State is taking this line. This is where the legislation will fail to deliver an adequate service or deliver it on time. We are leaving delivery of the service open-ended which is not a good way to deal with legislation. As I said earlier, we need to strengthen the legislation and provide for timeframes.

It all comes back to financial constraints. The problem many of the disability organisations had with the legislation was that it was driven by these constraints. I have been thinking of services I have had to access; fortunately, I have never had to access services for anybody with a disability. I was thinking of parents who try to access dental services, a minor issue, for a child. If the same type of service is delivered for those with disability as is delivered to those who try to access the dental service, God help those seeking the service. The current service is like that or worse.

I seek to ensure that we make this legislation work. We must make strong and strict guidelines and timeframes for the delivery of the service. The Bill is weakened by not including these provisions and that is the reason so many people are unhappy with it.