Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

My information is that special care is not provided other than by the HSE. Section 38 of the 1994 Health Act allows such care to be provided other than by the HSE from time to time. The section is facilitative and anticipates that in certain circumstances a child with highly specific needs may, from time to time, avail of services outside the State, for example, in the United Kingdom. The issue of scale arises owing to the small size of the country. In such circumstances, the HSE wishes to retain control over the management of the care of the child.