Alex White (Labour)

Without being unnecessarily critical, that is essentially what the Minister of State said on Committee Stage. I do not doubt his commitment to this and entirely accept his bona fides, but the wheels of change move very slowly. The Minister of State will certainly have the support of my party for anything he can bring forward in this regard. I do not regard this as a matter of controversy which should be politicised in any sense by political parties. I cannot speak for Fine Gael, but, as far as my party is concerned, the Minister of State will receive our support in bringing forward such a measure. I am disappointed that he does not feel he is able to do something more today than he was prepared to do on the last occasion. The last occasion was positive, but things have not become more positive today in terms of where we will go next. The Bill will be brought before the Lower House. Does the Minister of State consider he will have more to offer, announce or pledge when the Bill is taken in the Lower House? If that were the case, I would be pleased and welcome it.

I am concerned about the use of phrases such as "as the need arises" or "as the need is proven" which tend to creep into legislation. The extent to which it can be qualified and to which the entitlement or need is predicated on somebody making a decision as to whether it is needed means that, with the best will in the world, people will fall through the cracks. Assessments are made in good faith at the time by professionals, in which it is not possible for them to foresee things going wrong later. The whole point of aftercare is that it should be a system that kicks in at the age of 18 years and does not await the necessity for somebody to make a decision required in a particular case. I accept this is a big request for the service and in terms of funding, particularly in the current environment — I am aware I am pushing an open door with the Minister of State in terms of the argument — but based on what we have seen in recent months and years it is essential that this is brought forward. The only way to be sure in the provision of public services, particularly in an area such as this, that there will be delivery is to put it in legal form where people can see and understand it. By all means, have specific measures which the Minister of State might consider important not to qualify it but to manage it and determine how it should be provided. However, legislation is what is required and what the Minister of State is saying, while welcome, falls short of a commitment to bringing it forward. This is not an issue on which I wish to be divisive.