Mr. Mark O'Connor:

This is not a Covid-19 issue, but obviously it has been exacerbated by the pandemic. The HSE's performance report from September 2019 indicates that many people in services were waiting longer than 12 months. That is an extraordinarily long time if one needs therapeutic input. Some 2,830 people were waiting for physiotherapy, 9,296 were waiting for occupational therapy, 1,035 were waiting for speech therapy and 2,636 were waiting for psychology for more than 12 months. I would add on six months in each case since Covid-19 has started.

When one digs deeper into the HSE's performance report one sees that hundreds of people have been waiting more than two years. It is a particular issue in all of the Dublin CHO areas.

Finally, the HSE has to do an assessment of needs within a six-month timeframe. Nationally, 10% are done within six months.