I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. The Government and I, like the Deputy, are committed to early intervention for children with disabilities, to ensure they can access the appropriate supports at the earliest possible stage. Those services are delivered through our children’s disability network teams for children with complex needs. Recruitment and retention of health and social care professionals is a really big challenge, to be quite frank, and it is a challenge faced by the CDNTs across the cou…

In terms of staffing, this year's budget has allocated €8 million, which will provide for 150 new staff across our CDNTs. We will prioritise the placement of those new staff on the teams that have the highest vacancy rates. That is to make sure that we are providing more therapies to children who need them and who are waiting longer on lists. It is also to make sure that we are supporting the staff who are working with those CDNTs, which we need to do. In regard to Deputy Clendennen and his constituents who have go…

There are 45,000 children receiving support and therapies through our CDNTs nationally and that is really positive. We are embarking on a recruitment campaign to make sure we are bolstering our teams. Part of that will be international and national recruitment but it will also be making sure, for example, that we are expanding training places, which happened in June of last year. There will be up to 461 additional student places by the end of 2028 and the majority of those have commenced. New roles and training pat…

The delivery of an effective, efficient assessment of need system is a priority for the Government, which is why we are bringing in reforms in this area. There has been intensive work by the Department and the HSE to address delays in the provision of assessments of need to children and their families. Children do not require an assessment of need to access health services, including primary care, children’s disability network teams or mental health services. It is important that people are aware of this. However, …

I want to be absolutely clear, and to reassure parents in particular, that proposed legislative changes will not in any way remove any right for parents to apply for an assessment of need for their child, and will not alter the six-month timeline in the Act. That is important to say, and I do not want parents to be misled on that. The changes include changes to Part 2 of the Disability Act, which provides for assessments of need. These legislative changes include ensuring the assessment process focuses on a child’s…

We know that at the heart of this are children - children with disabilities who need access to therapies. Right now, they are waiting too long for access to therapies and too long for assessments of need. That is wrong. That is why, just in December, we outlined reforms. Those reforms include statutory guidelines, which will streamline and standardise the process. That will include decisions being communicated to parents.

There will be a new pathways option for children who are potentially autistic. They will be set up by in-reach teams, 11 of which will be created across the country.

I will revert to the Deputy with that exact number. I have the exact number that he requested in his question, which I read out, but I will get the number for last year too and give it to the Deputy. That is no problem. We are also hiring more people for the CDNT teams. We have a new single point of access that ensures no child is on the wrong waiting list, and there is no such thing as a wrong door from a HSE perspective. In addition, we are supplementing our workforce by outsourcing a number of AONs as well.

I would like to add to the list of TY students who are visiting the Chamber. Leo Rowley is here today with me. I also welcome Deputy Devlin's guests and all our guests to the Chamber. I thank Senator O'Reilly for tabling this commencement matter. I would like to use this opportunity to outline exactly what is happening. I know that is something the Senator and SNAP are keen to happen. The HSE has provided a status update. HSE Cavan-Monaghan disability services team, supported by the HSE north-east estates departmen…

What I am clearly saying is that we are looking to replace the existing Monaghan day activation unit, which is based in St. Davnet's campus in Monaghan town. Yes, we are looking at Monaghan town. The information I have from the HSE is that it is engaging locally with the HSE north-east estates department to identify a suitable site, so I do not have information that says a site has been identified. I am being told by the HSE directly that the HSE capital estates office is currently liaising with Cavan-Monaghan disa…

That is the information I have, correct.

There is no timeline because it is ongoing. As soon as it is identified we will have further information, because once we have an identified site, we will then know from a planning perspective how long things will take. It is really important to say that funding was approved as a capital appraisal project for this, so there is funding earmarked for this project. It is something we are very committed to delivering. We know there is a need there and we want to replace the existing facility, and this is how we do that…

I welcome the students to the Seanad. I thank Senator O'Loughlin for raising this very important issue and giving me the opportunity to talk about assessments of need and the reforms we are introducing in this area. As the Senator said, Government recognises there are absolutely unacceptable delays in accessing assessments of need, not just in Kildare but right across the country. The Department and the HSE are committed to addressing these delays and ensuring the assessment of need system becomes more efficient an…

As I have outlined, there are a series of reforms being progressed to ensure children can access assessments of need in a timely manner. In addition to this, we are also using measures such as the targeted wait list initiative which was introduced in May 2024. This year, that initiative will support the delivery of 6,000 clinical assessments. That is another one of those actions. There is very much a timeframe for that. When it comes to staffing, I reassure the Senator that our CDNTs are also recruiting and there w…

I thank Deputy Moynihan for raising this really important topic which I am taking today on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. From the outset, I want to clarify that the Minister for Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport, however neither the Minister nor his officials are involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services. The statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nati…

I fully agree. It makes absolute sense to utilise existing routes. It makes sense from a sustainability perspective, from an efficiency perspective and, most importantly, from a public transport users' perspective. I will absolutely take that feedback back to the Minister for Transport. Orbital routes have been a success in most instances. There has been huge investment in them and that is because nowadays everybody does not necessarily need to be going to the city centre. That is not everybody's destination. It is…

I thank Deputy Ó Muirí very much for raising this Topical Issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport. To clarify, the Minister for Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding of public transport, but he does not have responsibility for or involvement in the day-to-day operation of public transport services. That rests with the National Transport Authority. The NTA, which the Deputy referenced in his contribution, works with the public transport operators, who deliver the servic…

I thank the Deputy. He is right. He has to raise these issues on behalf of his constituents. At the end of the day, transport connectivity is massively important to people. It is important to people who are using it to get to work or to get to study. It is a part of day-to-day life. Public transport is something that should be able to be relied on. The Deputy spoke of published timetables being a work of fiction. That is not acceptable. We need to get to a point where published timetables are reliable. I am really …

A meeting is being arranged.

I remind Members that the Minister, Deputy Foley, in her opening remarks, set out the objectives and principles underpinning this Bill. Its core function is to revise and update the Child Care Act 1991. This Bill is aimed at reflecting changes in child welfare and protection services in Ireland over the past 30 years. It will capture current legislative, policy and practice developments. Most importantly, it will provide for greater co-operation and co-ordination across State agencies and Departments, promoting a m…