I also want to refer to last night's "Prime Time" harrowing programme which focused on family members who were providing care for their loved ones. It highlighted the fact that the Government was failing in a very profound way those in need of care. It also painted a stark picture of the incredible stress and distress experienced by many families who were struggling to provide care with little or no support from the State. Today one in 20 people is a family carer, but that figure is set to rise to one in five by 2030. According to Family Carers Ireland, carers provide €10 billion in unpaid care each year. Census data show that there are 3,800 young carers under the age of 15 years and 29,000 over the age of 65. The human cost of the State's failure was evident for all to see and those of us who run constituency clinics see it every single day.

I have been raising with the Taoiseach for some time the case of Sam O'Carroll from County Louth. He is autistic and incontinent at night. He bangs his head, has broken his bed three times and can hurt himself. He had been receiving respite care from the age of 13 years, but lost this service on turning 18. Speaking about the loss of this service, Sam's mother said, "I can’t tell you the difference it makes having respite. If you know you are getting a break in two or three weeks time, you can carry on in between but if there is no break on the horizon ... That’s where we are now – there is nothing – that’s really really hard.” Sam has taken to having violent episodes and recently seriously assaulted his mother. A social care worker has stated he is a risk to his mother and that appropriate funding should be provided to ensure he receivess safe, secure levels of care, but that has not happened.

Brendan is 13 years old and has a diagnosis of cerebral palsy, which condition is life-limiting. He has profound and significant medical needs and is bedridden with bed sores. His mother has not had a break for weeks. I spoke to her on Saturday or Sunday last. Brendan has not received respite care for months.

The Taoiseach has a duty to ensure these citizens and their families will receive the necessary supports and services. I have a proposal for his consideration. A 20% increase in the number of respite care hours would cost €13 million and meet the expected demand. The provision of 2 million additional home help hours and 2,500 extra home care packages would cost €72 million. These are very modest proposals, but they would make a huge difference to the lives of these citizens. I, therefore, ask the Taoiseach to take and implement them as a matter of urgency. I ask him to make this a republic of opportunity for these citizens. Will he do what I ask?

As I acknowledged in my earlier contribution, I understand, as does everyone on this side of the House, the value and importance of respite care. It is hope on the horizon; it gives family carers the hope they need to continue doing what they are doing, knowing that they will get an evening or a weekend off. It is also very important for other members of the family. Often if there is one person in a family who needs care and attention, other children do not receive the attention they deserve. The fact that respite care is provided allows parents to give other members of the family the attention they need.

I can guarantee the Deputy there is no lack of understanding from this Government or on this side of the House of the value of respite and the need to make it more available.

In terms of the specific proposals made by the president of Sinn Féin, we are certainly happy to consider them in the context of the HSE service plan for 2018. As I have mentioned before, the budget for disability services, out of which respite is funded, has increased dramatically in recent years, from €1.4 billion in 2014 up to €1.59 billion the year after that, then to €1.558 billion after that, and it will rise to €1.763 billion next year. Therefore, there is a very significant increase in the budget for these services, and I understand there is a €75 million increase in the budget for next year. Exactly how that will be broken down in terms of additional home care packages, additional home help hours and additional respite provision has to be determined but we will certainly take into account any considered proposals that people have.

I expect the Taoiseach to come back to me on that, in his own time. Some 643,000 citizens are recorded as having a disability. Budget 2018 had no commitment to increase personal assistant hours or respite care services, despite the increased need for support. In fact, overnight hours of respite care for children with disabilities have dropped from 44,000 overnight hours to 40,000. Therefore, the Government is providing less despite the fact there are more requests for overnight respite care than ever before.

There is no real, fit-for-purpose way of getting these necessary and proper services for citizens with disabilities. It is chaotic and disorganised and is left to the endeavours of individual families. Parents have to become activists, campaigners and advocates on top of everything else. Sam and Brendan are citizens. Sam and Brendan have rights and it is our duty to uphold their rights. Their families have rights and it is our duty to uphold their rights also, but we are not doing it. Results count. I made a very modest proposal to the Taoiseach and he said he is going to come back to me. I will be back to ask him for a positive answer to that in the time ahead.

I will absolutely consider the proposal the Deputy has made. It has to be done in the context of the budget and the HSE service plan, and we will have to see whether his costings are correct because proposals that do not stand up and costings that are not correct do not merit much consideration. We will certainly examine what is being proposed.

In terms of what was announced in the budget, as the Deputy mentioned it, the budget provides an extra €75 million for disability services next year. A reduction in the prescription charge of 50 cent for everyone under 65 kicks in in a few weeks' time. An additional 1,000 special needs assistants will ensure that people with disabilities get the educational opportunities they deserve and there will be 100 extra special education teachers. A €5 increase in disability allowance and a €5 increase in the carer's allowance are kicking in in March. We have secured additional funding for the decision support service, empowering people with disabilities to make their own decisions, so they do not have others making decisions for them. There will also be an extra €5 million for housing adaptation grants because, if people are going to stay in their own homes. Very often those homes need to be adapted to enable them to do so, and there was an announcement on that recently. In addition, in the next few weeks the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, will make an announcement on personalised budgeting and the progress we are making on that, giving more families the power to decide how the money is spent on their own care. Issues such as the number of home help hours, home care packages and personal assistant hours are all matters for the HSE service plan, which is yet to be finalised.