Mr. Bernard O'Regan:

We are prioritising CAMHS and CDNT recruitment. Extensive work is going on in respect of recruitment and retention measures. We are undertaking substantial international recruitment now. We are working with CORU in respect of the pathways for registration. We are also working on some initiatives for the placement periods needed for some international therapists coming in who need to fulfil the registration requirements with CORU. In addition, we are leading out on some initiatives along the lines of what the Deputy has suggested in respect of sponsoring students and asking them to commit to continuing to work in the disability services or CAMHS for a certain time.

Fundamentally, there is another aspect of this endeavour that offers a longer-term solution. We are talking with various Departments and they, in turn, are engaging with the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Simon Harris, and his Department about building the supply of people in this regard because we have a growing population. There are 700 vacancies in the CDNTs now, which is based on our approved staffing level. For a population that will increase, though, we will need bigger teams. We will, therefore, need more staff coming through training. This means that there is a need to increase the pool of candidates in Ireland and internationally.