Ivana Bacik (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. As always, she gave a comprehensive response and I note more detail is provided in the written response. I always endeavour to be constructive.

This is clearly a vitally important issue. The Minister of State frankly acknowledged that while the plan was to reopen in September, unfortunately that has not been possible. It is still very disappointing and frustrating for persons in need of these services and their families not to have any sense of a timeline. It gives hope to hear that a focus group has been established in the HSE to ensure services are being prioritised. It is also very helpful to hear about alternative service delivery models within those proposals. However, it would be great to be given a better indication of the sort of timeframe that might be envisaged by the HSE's focus group.Clearly, planning is ongoing and, as the Minister of State noted, within that plan there is a recognition that some services will not be able to reopen and that alternative methods of delivery should be available. Perhaps she will elaborate a little more on the timeframe. Are we talking months or some time in the spring, for example? That would be helpful.