Senator Aubrey McCarthy - I welcome my good friend, Gillian McCutcheon, into the House today. Gillian has worked with people from an addiction background for many years, is a trained psychologist and has given her life to it. I salute her for that while she is in the House today. I want to draw attention to the crisis that is facing FASD Ireland, which deals with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Despite delivering all agreed KPIs over the years, and in many cases exceeding them, FASD has been chronically underfunded. In 2024, the organisation received €200,000 from the Government to build capacity. In 2025, it wanted to scale and it put in an application for €418,000 to deliver services at scale, with no provision for increased operational costs. I know first hand that staff are working 12-hour days. The organisation cannot afford to heat the offices at some stages. FASD Ireland simply cannot meet the demand.

The situation for FASD Ireland is critical. The final HSE payment for 2025 will not arrive in its bank account until January. That leaves the organisation without any funding for December. Without intervention, FASD may be forced to close before the year ends. An overdraft facility has been sought from Bank of Ireland but approval has not come through yet. That depends on the confirmation of 2026 funding, confirmation which the HSE has yet to provide. It is not an isolated issue. I know many people who have FASD. They are working and, with the proper supports, they are doing well. However, they need support from the Government. I call on the Minister for Health and the Minister of State with responsibility for disability and the HSE to urgently review the 2025 allocation. Vulnerable families with FASD should not be abandoned.

I also wish a big happy Christmas to all of the team here - Bridget, Martin, Carmel and all of the gang who have looked after us for the year. Gabhaim buíochas.