Mr. Bernard O'Regan:

On the assessment of need, undoubtedly there are challenges with implementing it. Substantially, the issues there are around the level of staffing that is currently available. It is not resources; it is just about people and the capacity to deliver within the timeframes. The concern I would have from an HSE perspective is that if we had an additional layer of legal requirement on top of the current requirements, which, to be frank, we are struggling to implement, we will have additional levels of difficulty. The way the assessment of need is currently set out, applications are dealt with on the basis of a chronological requirement. That is set out within each CHO and is in line with the regulations. Whether that is equitable could be argued in the context of taking different approaches to it. Fundamentally, it is an agreed legal framework that allows for an equitable approach to how assessments are done and the timeframes that they are to be done within. It is inclusive of the autistic community.

Substantial additional work has been done on developing a tiered approach to assessments of need and diagnosis in the context of autism. That is being piloted at the moment in four CHO areas. It is at an early stage. We have no data on it yet; it is in the process of being rolled out. The intention behind it is to have a clinically informed, evidence-based approach to how diagnosis is undertaken for the autistic community - children and adults - in order that it can be approached in a way that is predicated on individual circumstances as opposed to having only one way of doing it. That will be an important part of how assessment and diagnosis are undertaken.