Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Deputy Cairns on this issue. It is so important that we have proper protocols and that all children have this right. It is in the programme for Government and we need to deliver on this. There is also accountability within the HSE. The witnesses can see the anger here. As Deputies and Senators, we see this every day in our constituencies. I feel it is getting harder. There is an issue with communication. I understand that everybody is doing their best. That is not in question. The problem is that there is no delivery and no accountability. If there is no proper communication, how can we even get back to parents and let them know what is happening? The HSE is a disaster in that regard. I am not trying to be rude but trying to get things done is a nightmare. I spoke earlier about overnight respite. I understand that with Covid, things had to be pulled. There will be protests from families outside Leinster House in the next few months about all the different services their children are trying to access, including respite. Families feel they have been let down.

We need a plan, even if we cannot sort it now. Mr. Reid said this was something he came into, and I understand that staff are working on this. We need a plan so we can at least tell families what we are doing for the next year, and that while we might not get everything, this is what we are going to try to do. That is the communication we need. That way, people will know the HSE is coming back to them. Right now, they are being ignored. The HSE cannot ignore these families and children but that is what is happening.

We have spoken about the 90-minute assessments. When people come into my clinics, it takes more than 90 minutes to get to know them, and I still meet them regularly to try to get their issues sorted. What is the feedback on this? The extra funding is welcome but we are talking about a 90-minute assessment. This was brought in by the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte. What is the follow-up? What has happened here? Families are still trying to get answers and they are just not getting them. This is an issue across all Departments so I am not going to blame the HSE. All the HSE staff I know work hard. There is no question about that. All the bodies, services and agencies I work with are doing their best but much more must be done.

I know Dr. Muldoon spoke about education. What I find is that within education, there is transport and all the different services as well as housing. There is not one joined-up service. This is my biggest issue. Everybody is blaming everybody, and nobody is taking responsibility. Everybody in this room is as angry as me. I am asking Mr. Reid, could we have some sort of responsibility in that this may not get sorted in the next six months but that a plan be set out, that the HSE will work with the different agencies and Departments, and communicate it to the families, the Senators and Deputies so that we can at least work with it. We are not here to criticise everyone or to make trouble. We are here to try to fix the system that is broken. We are trying to help the HSE but if it is not coming back to us, and we cannot do that though our HSE services, we cannot help with solving the problem. The only way this can be solved is if all of us, the Departments and the HSE, come together and work with everybody. If that does not happen, we are on a road to nowhere. The system is failing. It is failing the children who are most vulnerable and that really worries me. Mr. Reid might come back in to answer me.