Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the NCSE and HSE guests. Which existing therapy services are included in the new reconfiguration? Can the HSE give us an overview of the pressures in different parts of the country? There are different operations in various regions. What are the waiting lists for the various therapy services? Are they much longer in some areas than others? Are young people being seen earlier in some areas, and do the waiting lists extend to more than a year in other areas? Are there caps on the number of psychological assessments and other services a school can get? My information is that the number of children a school can send forward to see an educational psychologist is limited. As a result, schools must choose between children, which is not a position in which any school should be. Is this case across the country?

Could both guests elaborate on the distinction between services available to special schools and mainstream schools? Parents have told me they felt they had to send their children to special schools because it was the only way they could access support services although the children were capable of being in the mainstream school system. What services are affected by the distinction between special and mainstream schools? Could the NCSE elaborate on its experience of the allocation of resource hours? Its presentation has outlined that it very much depends on when a child is assessed and follows on from assessment. Could the NCSE give more details on the number of students affected and whether it is different in various parts of the country?