Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Stack, Mr. Mulkerrins and Ms. Griffin to the Joint Committee and wish them the best. It is very generous to undertake a role for nothing and it is obviously done from passion and love of public service. Nobody can underestimate the challenges which lie ahead, in particular at a time when resources are few and far between. It makes things even more difficult. There are a number of areas which must nevertheless be addressed. I note in Mr. Stack's contribution his reference to the need for closer inter-agency partnership, in particular in the areas of health and education. I agree. As he reads into the role over the next couple of weeks, Mr. Stack will come across some of the difficulties in health and education regarding special educational needs. The current HSE proposals on the reconfiguration of therapy services and their impact on children with special educational needs, particularly in specialist schools, have created fears among families that current services will be diminished by the move to more geographically based provision. It is happening already in Cork and there were issues with implementation in Limerick. Implementation in Meath seems to have been more successful than it was in Limerick. I do not know why. Consultation with the HSE will be very important to address the impact of the reconfiguration of services on special needs education.