Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the work CHO 1 has done. It ensured nobody got left behind when people were trying to stretch their money. That is why it has put in place a closed-route door-to-door service. Perhaps other CHOs might have taken the hard view that they do not provide that sort of service and left families with the burden of bringing loved ones to day services. CHO 1 has been fantastic in ensuring all people could attend the service but it has come at a cost. It is a burden of €1,000 in a cost-of-living crisis and if there are two siblings, it would be €2,000 a year. The working group I chair has finished. We had our final meeting last week. Now the matter has gone out for further observation to the various Departments. Anne Melly from the HSE and Department of Transport officials sit on that. I hope we will have a more concrete basis as to our direction of travel in early January. It will be incumbent on me to ensure funding is provided to CHO 1 in 2023's budget but in the interim I would assume, and hope, that the Department of Transport would meet me with the 10% shortfall.