Dr. Michael Stoker:

I echo the majority of what my occupational therapist colleagues have just said. My understanding is that psychologists are available. We are also aware that there are some difficulties in the way in which psychologists are recruited to the HSE nationally. The PSI is currently seeking feedback from its members regarding their experiences of that. We hope to provide some information about that in due course.

As regards the consultation process, the PSI was not approached by the HSE in respect of the SOP. Our members brought the SOP to our attention. We produced a position paper expressing our concerns. The HSE wrote back to us in response to that position paper and subsequently invited us to meet, unfortunately at rather short notice, and we were unable to attend. We have not met the HSE with regard to this issue yet.

It is certainly the case that many children are unable to afford private intervention. They find that the provision of public services is delayed and, when they access them, the services can also be significantly less than might be hoped. That is definitely a factor in many areas, though not all. Our sense is that, partly due to the lack of consultation and partly due to referring to the evidence base regarding what constitutes a comprehensive assessment with a view to understanding the nature of a child's needs and their extent, the 90 minutes does not appear to be coming from an evidence base or from consulting the professionals.