David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The problem is the six-month statutory wait time does not apply to the more in-depth assessment. This is the problem. Quite rightly, many parents state we have a situation whereby we have set out in statute that the assessment has to identify whether the child has a disability, the extent and nature of the disability and the services the child would need because of the disability. The Minister can read the Act himself. From memory, I am very clear about what it says. What is laid out does not happen and cannot happen in the initial screening and assessment. The six-month clock ticks for this screening, which the Minister says is a screening, after which some may need an assessment and others may not.