I will stick to the issue of disability. The Enough is Enough group will be protesting shortly to highlight the urgent need to reopen disability day services. People with disabilities must get back to full services for their own sake but also to relieve the enormous stress on family carers. At the same time, the Taoiseach must accept that the organisations that provide most of those disability services face a complete lack of certainty about their core funding.

The Taoiseach referenced the €20 million cut that was announced last January and said it has been put to one side. I want clarification on that. Several promises have been made over the past six months. That so-called efficiency cut was announced, of course, before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Prior to the general election, Fianna Fáil committed to reversing that cut. The Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, said that the bottom line is that the cut must be withdrawn. I asked the Minister about that proposed €20 million cut last week and he told me that he did not know whether it was going ahead. We know that the then Minister, Deputy Harris, said absolutely that the cut was to be removed. He said he wanted to provide the organisations with peace of mind with a letter confirming that the cut is gone. However, we know from listening to disability organisations that they are hearing on the ground that the HSE intends to proceed with that cut. The cut is not gone.

I want the Taoiseach to confirm that he is committed to reversing that €20 million cut. I also want him to commit to providing confirmation of that in writing today to the organisations involved. I further want him to send a clear message to the HSE instructing it not to proceed with the cuts. What the Taoiseach said earlier about that €20 million has not been borne out by what is happening currently on the ground.

The other point the Taoiseach should clarify relates to the substantial additional costs that disability organisations will incur in reopening services, observing social distancing and all the other issues associated with compliance with health advice while reopening services as a matter of urgency. What is the total fund that the Government will provide in order to facilitate the reopening of disability services in the context of Covid and meeting all of those additional costs?

I can confirm that the efficiency saving will not be applied. This is not about the 1% saving that the cut would represent. The funding to health services as a result of the pandemic is now multiples of that provided in the original health Estimate. Additional billions in funding will be going to health services in general. That cut will not be applied.

More importantly, there must be validation of the business cases that service providers are making for the reopening of services. I do not have a specific overall fund governing that. This works both ways and some savings must have been realised because services have been closed for five months. I will not make a meal out of that point but it must be acknowledged.

There is engagement between the HSE and the service providers. The overarching position of the Government is that we want these services to reopen for the 19,000 people affected. We need precision and a concrete set of proposals to allow that to happen, similar to what has transpired in education where proposals have been particularly comprehensive. I have been told that the vast majority of service providers will resume in August and the HSE has not been told by anybody that they will not be resuming services in August. I am not taking what I have been told so far as read and will seek further clarification. I am obviously probing more and want to see definite plans on this matter. Realistic costings will follow the provision of definite plans.

I would like clarification on those two issues. The Taoiseach has given a commitment about the €20 million but we have heard similar commitments a number of times over the past few months that have not been followed through. The Taoiseach has put that commitment on the record and I ask him to put it in writing today to the disability organisations and make it clear to the HSE that is the case. It has not been confirmed with the relevant organisations.

There is no more time to be wasted before action is taken on the additional costs associated with the requirements around Covid-19. It is essential that disability services are opened up at least in line with the schools. What is the process for identifying the costs involved for the different disability organisations? How will it be made clear that money will be available in time for the necessary works to be carried out?

I earlier referenced the meeting we had yesterday evening, which involved a lot of Ministers. This issue was discussed at that meeting and in its aftermath. I am making our position clear to the Deputy. She has asked a question and I am giving her the answer.

Will the Taoiseach put his commitment in writing?

Of course we can do that.

Will he do it today?

I know that the Deputy would like a better answer than Deputy Kelly got but the point is-----

We have heard these kinds of promises before.

I appreciate that. The Deputy has made the fair point that the commitment should be communicated to the organisations in the system and it will be. The overall point is that we are talking about multiples of the original amount of money designated for the HSE and services in general because of Covid-19.

The issue now is what it will take to restore these services. I have not seen the final print of that, if I am honest. I have not seen the final bill. What I really want to see is a structured response stating when the services will be restored. The HSE is working on that.

Deputy Róisín Shortall: Is there a Minister in charge of that?

There is a Minister of State. As the Deputy is aware, it is a new Department. It is located in the Department of Health right now and that whole area governing disability will move to the new Department with responsibility for children, youth affairs and disability.