Tony Mulcahy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Nevertheless, I echo his concerns. A Member of the other House, Deputy Mick Wallace, has stated publicly that the people he was dealing with before the crisis are the same people he has dealt with since the crisis. I was very worried to hear that comment. I do not condone whatever the Deputy might have done, but it is disturbing to discover that the same people are sitting on the other side of the table. It seems to be a case of gamekeeper turned poacher. I have exactly the same concerns as Senator O'Brien in that regard.

I seek an update on the implementation plan the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, has put in place for the individualisation of funds in the disability sector. I ask the Leader to facilitate a debate on that issue early in the new year, with a full statement by the Minister of State as to how she proposes to roll out this project in the coming years. The idea here is that the money follows the client, with funding assigned to clients to select services according to their requirements. If we are ever to break up the current model of service provision in the intellectual disability sector, this is exactly the way to do it. The cost of the current system is simply too high, as I have outlined on several occasions.