Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State's response. While I know what the Department is trying to do, I am concerned that the issue will be lost in reports and more bureaucracy. The State has outsourced this service and does so with other services through section 38 and section 39 agreements. Clarecare in County Clare is an example. It was never given back the funding that was cut. There were plenty of carefully worded responses from Ministers at the time stating it was a matter for the voluntary body to figure out how it paid people and what they did and did not do. The truth is that when the cut came and the Department cut HSE staff, the cuts were imposed on the private sector operators as well but the money was never properly returned to the level it should have been. That is a separate issue I hope can be addressed in due course through ongoing dialogue and debate.

The issue I am raising now is the cost of travel, which has been exacerbated dramatically by the increase in the cost of fuel. It has doubled in cost. It is obvious that we do not have people to fill these positions. They are not prepared and cannot afford to do it. Immediate intervention is needed. Otherwise there will be more people on trolleys in accident and emergency departments because we will not have the bed capacity to address demand.