Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for coming in. Many of my questions have already been asked so I will try not to repeat them and let more people in as the day goes on. Therefore, I might take less time.

I wish to ask about the impact on children at different stages of development and I thinking about the different ages. Obviously our concern is for all of the children. For many years the evidence has been that the earlier supports and interventions are provided the greater the impact. I will talk about assessing intellectual disability and the allocation of schools. This morning, I spoke to a parent who told me that their child simply cannot be assessed for cognitive reasons for intellectual disability until the age of five, with the practical difficulty then of accessing and registering for a special school. I ask the witnesses to talk me through the background to the issue and explain how this creates problems. I understand that waiting lists for special schools cannot be created because of the change in 2018 concerning waiting lists in general.

Can Mr. O'Connor provide additional information in that regard?