Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Deputy Hourigan that the timeframe is very tight to feed into the Estimates process for budget 2025. My understanding is that the officials start preparing the Estimates in July. Really and truly, the working group would need to be set up immediately and work through quarter 2 of this year to have the recommendations signed off on. If at this stage the terms of reference are not even available and we do not know what they will be, it is an issue. I agree with Mr. Lennon on including a GP and private providers but unfortunately I am not very confident that we will see anything substantial for budget 2025. I do not like to be pessimistic.

In answering Deputy Shortall, reference was made to doing hearing tests on newborn babies. Could Mr. Lennon elaborate on that? Are all newborn babies tested? If hearing issues are identified, are they dealt with immediately? Could Mr. Lennon talk us through the process?