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

I thank the Deputy raising that very important issue. I completely concur with her. If we do not have the data, how can we measure? I will bring her up to speed on two things. The contracts have been signed for a new ICT system for the progressing disability services, PDS, model. I am pushing this and want to see it done. I am assured that by quarter 1 of 2023, all the PDS systems throughout the country will have the data and the information technology systems to collect that. Then I will save Deputy Shortall and everyone else on their parliamentary questions because I want to have it live so that we see the waiting lists live - not the individuals but the numbers - so that people have a proper directory of when someone enters a particular CDNT team, what is ahead of them and where it is moving. It is not in relation to accountability but it has to be in relation to seeing what is getting done. We need to know there is a throughput but the clinicians themselves will want to see that too. We must move away from a paper-based system because it does not serve any purpose waiting three months to get an answer.

On the response the Deputy received to her parliamentary question, early intervention is gone and it is all part of the PDS now. That is the answer she should have been given. We no longer have that because we have all our PDS teams in place. It is from birth to 18 years, so there is no ageing out. Since the reform, the days of ageing out of a service has gone. That is of little comfort to those who thought they were on an early intervention team. I can only apologise to the families who might not be aware of it for poor communication on that. Early intervention ageing out teams are gone.