Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will pick up on Senator Ahearn's point. This fund is very welcome. I would have hoped that there would have been more resources in it, but €2.9 million of that fund is coming to Clare. North-west Clare has thousands of Ukrainian residents, which has put a lot of pressure on some of the sports clubs and community groups and clubs, which have done sterling work in creating integration programmes and supports. It cannot be complicated; the money needs to flow down quickly because it is needed as soon as possible. It is a very welcome fund.

We are back after Christmas. I hope people had a good rest and a good opportunity to unwind and get their energy levels back. One issue that has come to my attention on a number of occasions but particularly recently is the issue of wheelchairs breaking down and requiring maintenance. A broken down wheelchair is like somebody not having a wheelchair. The problem lies in delays at HSE level in terms of responding to maintenance queries and the need for upgrades, new wheelchairs, improved wheelchairs, fixes to wheels and electronics. It is too long for these things to happen and this is causing enormous stress to wheelchair users. I do not know what arrangements the HSE has with private companies, but they need to be reviewed. There needs to be a very fast turnaround when a wheelchair breaks down. The Minister of State with responsibility for disability needs to come to the House in the next few weeks to go through the protocols in the HSE to see how they can be improved. If service level agreements with more companies are needed in order to ensure that young people whose wheelchairs break down are not left for an indefinite and undefined period waiting for the essential equipment they need to live independently, then they should be put in place. I encourage the Leader to see if she can facilitate that as soon as possible.