Ms Fiona Jennings:

I will speak about the tiered approach and low to moderate anxiety. The committee will have heard a lot during the past couple of sessions about the all, the some and the few. If the all is neglected, they become the some and if they then are neglected, they become the few. The Senator's observation about Barnahus is correct. It is a fantastic project set up in Galway that will be established in Cork and Dublin. However, it does not have enough services it can access to refer on. It does some therapeutic support itself.

Many agencies and organisations do fantastic work. I will bring it back to the pathfinder project. This must be initiated without further delay. Then and only then will we be able to truly identify. I know Mr. Smyth spoke about gaps pertaining to psychology but there are gaps in every cohort and at every level of support as well. If that pathfinder project was initiated, we would be able to get an idea of what those gaps are and address the challenges that would inform better service delivery, better service alignment and, ultimately, better service outcomes.

I often raise the Meitheal model because it works well. This model involves getting all relevant services around the table, the child or young person is at the heart of it and it is the service with the best ability to serve their needs that works with them. Amazing pockets of good work are being done. They are being done in silos, however, and there is no collaboration or co-ordination. That is the crux of it. To have any kind of meaningful impact, that foundation must first be laid.