Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There are two answers to that question and I do not want to evasive. First, the reason we have to deliver on the comprehensive assessment of needs is that the backlog was there before 2020. That is what has to happen. To my understanding, the reason the standard operating procedure was brought forward was to streamline the entire procedure. People are of the opinion that the standard operating procedure, SOP, is a desktop exercise. That is not what I am led to believe. It is a face-to-face exercise. I acknowledge the role of the Chairman and the members of the committee in bringing in various speakers. The committee needs to have a conversation in the entire round by bringing in HSE lead personnel in this area to get their vision of the roll-out of the SOP and whether it is another layer, is it a face-to face appointment, whether it has the same value and if it gets us to the intervention element quicker. The final question I would ask, which must be asked, is why are so many of the clinicians not in favour of it. While we need to have those conversations, the important element that needs to be addressed is whether it gets people to an intervention at a direct point of access quicker.