Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for the practical and pragmatic way he has raised this matter. It is a serious issue for many families. As he has said, the spotlight in recent weeks on young children with prostheses has shown that it can be very problematic for many families who might not have access to a long-term illness card or a medical card. As Senator Byrne said, if they are trying to raise an extra €16,000 every two years it is a huge amount of money for any one family to come up with.

The HSE states there are many demands on community funded schemes but thousands of products and appliances are provided through the schemes each year and they provide a key role in assisting and supporting service users to live at home and maintain their day-to-day activities. The HSE endeavours to meet needs in an equitable way within available resources and, given the many demands, the HSE prioritises eligible patients with the greatest needs.

I welcome also the programme for the community funded schemes, the work stream that has developed to standardise provision of aids and appliances at national level and the fact we will finally try to move away from the postcode lottery, which is something we are so used to in all services. It is something that has to become a thing of the past. I thank the Senator for raising this matter and I will certainly take back to the HSE the issues he has specifically raised. We know there are supports out there but unfortunately not everyone is able to access them.