Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will bring the Senator's concerns to the Minister because we are talking about public money and I accept the Senator's valid argument. As I said previously, the total budget in 2018 for the direct provision of services is €408 million. Regarding the point about hours, at the moment, the HSE hourly rate will range between €20 and €25, inclusive of pay and overheads. I accept the Senator's point regarding the other figures he mentioned. There should be some sort of independent assessment to find out the facts of the case. I will put those points to the Minister and come back to the Senator.