Vol. 378 No. 6
asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the L'Arche community recently purchased a house in Cork city with an 80 per cent grant from the Government; and that the house is unoccupied because the Government will not support the actual running of the house, which can be done for one-third the cost of keeping the proposed occupants in an institution.
269.
asked the Minister for Health if he will increase the annual grant to L'Arche in recognition of the very valuable work they undertake and because of the savings made by the State which would otherwise be responsible for those people now catered for by L'Arche community.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 268 and 269 together. I am sure the Deputy will appreciate that the scope for increasing grants to any health agency, in current circumstances, is severely limited. The provision of further assistance, to enable L'Arche to operate their second house, would require the redeployment of resources by the Southern Health Board in view of the fact that the persons for whom this house would cater are at present maintained by the board. Discussions are being arranged between my Department and the health board in this regard.
