asked the Minister for Health if he intends to introduce a comprehensive national programme for the mentally handicapped.

A number of initiatives in relation to the mental handicap services have been taken as part of a comprehensive programme for the mentally handicapped.

In the community sphere a counselling service for the parents of young mentally handicapped children living at home has been initiated, the domiciliary care allowance which is paid to mothers caring for their handicapped children at home has been increased from £25 to £35 per month and certain other improvements have been made in the scheme. In addition, there have been two increases in the Disabled Persons Maintenance Allowance which is paid to needy handicapped persons over 16 residing at home.

In the provision of residential and day accommodation, schemes are in progress or in planning which, over the next few years, will improve existing facilities and provide some 2,000 extra places for children and adults at an estimated cost of over £23 million. Since August 1977 some 450 new posts have been approved for the mental handicap services which have considerably improved the range and quality of the services available throughout the country for our mentally handicapped.

As regards the planning of future services, I am at present awaiting the report of a special study group representative of my Department and other interests—that is the report I mentioned to Deputy Desmond—which will be making recommendations to me regarding the future development of our mental handicap services. On receipt of this report I will be considering what further initiatives might be taken in the continuing development of the service.

In other words, when that report is presented we would have the basis upon which a comprehensive programme might be detailed. While the improvements outlined are welcomed, the Minister will accept that they are really improvements on the existing service. The setting out of a comprehensive programme would appear to depend on the report that is awaited?

There is no real line of demarcation. We are going ahead with anything that appears to be immediately advantageous. As I said in reply to Deputy Barry Desmond, the home counselling service emerged from the seminar and there was no reason why it should not be embarked upon so we went-ahead with it. We do not necessarily have to wait for this other report to decide an initiative. The main thing is the provision of places and that is well under way.