Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister of State correctly said, it is about trying to get a realistic approach on time so that we do not have to come back in three months. The discretionary funding from the HSE seems to be the avenue we need to start talking about. The HSE has a pot of money available. As the Minister of State indicated, it worked in a remote area in Kerry. That seems to be the scenario we need to start pressing. The Minister of State correctly said that the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and the local community are not the financial providers. It must come from the national Government. Will she give some clarity about the conversations that need to happen to get discretionary funding from the HSE in place so that this permanent service can be put in place? Will she outline where we need to go for that conversation so the HSE can come on line? I acknowledge the Minister of State's commitment that this has been sorted out for the next three months. That is important. We need a timeline for how the HSE could step in when that ends.