Mr. Mark O'Connor:

In terms of early intervention, all of the international evidence points to a golden window of opportunity with children being the three-to six-years timeframe. This is not to suggest that on reaching age six, learning is not achievable. There are fantastic gains and learning that can occur after that age but three to six years is a golden window of opportunity.

In terms of assessment, we are probably straying into the health arena. In terms of HSE assessments of needs, however, there is a statutory six-month timeframe for such assessments and a further month to produce reports. We know that this timeline is not met in approximately 90% of cases and that this means families do not have that accurate picture of their children. In terms of how this factors in in schools, when one looks at the enrolment policy of any school in Ireland, be it a mainstream school, special classes or otherwise, the special education sector requirement is a psychology report that is less than two years old. For a family that does not have such a report and is not awaiting one, this will be a barrier to their child getting into any school.