Mr. Pat Healy:

In my written response to Senator Jillian van Turnhout, I made the point that we had prioritised therapy services. That is in a context in which from 2007 to date there has been a reduction of 11.5% in the staffing numbers overall in the health service. While that has been happening, there has been a 13.99% increase in the therapy grades.

In the past year there has been a 1.5% reduction in staff numbers in the health service but a 2.36% increase in therapy grades. That shows we are prioritising them and we still have the resource.

A key intervention piece is the roll-out of the 0 to 18 years programme which we have prioritised. The top priority in the south east has been Wexford because there is a significant difficulty in the region due to the population and the number of therapists. Wexford was prioritised in our operational plan this year so the service will get posts this year.

Waterford is one of the locations that will make preparations this year. That means it will put in place a range of consultations, policies, and there will be engagements with local communities and schools as this is a joint initiative between the HSE and the Department of Education and Skills. Waterford will be prioritised in terms of resources next year so there will be additional resources going in that direction. We have figures but we are not able to break them down into grades, children's services and local health office. I shall establish the position and get back to the Deputy on the position in Waterford. The priority in the south east for this year is Wexford and Waterford is prioritised for next year once the consultation and preparatory work is done by the team this year.