Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State, but her response does not reassure me and I will tell her why. In the past year mental health funding was supposed to be ring-fenced but it has disappeared into a black hole and has not been used for mental health. There is a number of other examples. The idea that there is a subhead where this money should be spent is not enough. The fact that it is in the service plan that would come from the HSE is not enough.

It is one thing to introduce this Bill to the House, but it is quite another to ensure the spirit of the Bill is maintained and it is put effectively into practice. If we are to bring back democratic accountability to this House, we ought to have reports before the House outlining how the scheme is being run, what the effects of the legislation are, how much money is being spent on it and what the balance is between the demand for the service and what is actually being delivered.

The people we are discussing are the most vulnerable in society, namely, the elderly who are high dependency and need these places. A report ought to be provided to the Oireachtas on a yearly basis. I am not happy to leave it with the HSE, given the critiques there have been of it in recent times and the lack of ring-fencing of money - I gave the area of mental health as an example. This amendment would mean bringing actual detail on what was happening regarding the Bill to the floors of the Dáil, Seanad and committees. It is about time we started doing more of that in this House and stopped hiving off responsibility to unaccountable bodies or bodies which are not directly accountable to Members of this House.