Frank Fahey (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

I have sympathy with the Senator's views and if I could accede to her request, I would. The difficulty lies in the fact that we cannot provide a timeframe for a number of different bodies because they operate to different conditions. If we acceded to this provision it could lead to a person being placed at the top of a queue for one type of service ahead of others waiting in a queue. The situation is more complex than simply prescribing a timescale in an effort to make the system work more effectively. I would be disposed to trying to meet Senator Terry's requirements if it were not for the fact that we are dealing with a plethora of agencies, all of which have different regulations and guidelines. It is not possible to be so prescriptive that we can tell all the bodies concerned they must provide for a result within six weeks. That would not work.