Mr. Bernard O'Regan:

Those letters are certainly considered. The reason they are issued in the way they are is to be compliant with the Disability Act and to link to the service statements. We have to provide a factually accurate estimate of when a service might be in place based on the point in time at which the letter is being written. In order to address that, with the substantial investment in additional posts, the restructuring of the service into the children's disability network teams and the building in of the requirement that service statements are reviewed on an annual basis, we will look to improve that situation over the coming year in order that those letters are followed up by additional letters that improve the timelines for people. We are very conscious that when those letters issue to families it is not reflective of the direction and model of service we are working very hard to be able to implement, which is around people being able to access essential therapy services as soon as possible.