Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator. On the EPSEN Act, the review, which was instigated by the Minister, Deputy Foley, is ongoing by the Department of Education. We have been informed that it will be done by the end of the year. We are looking at having it by the end of the year.

I hope to launch the respite action plan in the coming weeks. We will see the full allocation. I secured €15 million in last year's budget, but in a full year, the amount involved is €25 million. We will see how it will pan out across the entire country. It will be aligned with the regional health areas.

On the personal assistance budgets, I understand that these under review this year. The review is coming to a close, but it is ongoing as we speak.

The Senator referred to the assessment of need, AON, and the NTPF and asked what exactly is going on. The Senator asked about the figure. At present, there are in excess of 10,000 people waiting for an AON. The breakdown is as follows. Within current funding for our teams and everything else, the HSE predicts that approximately 3,200 AONs will happen naturally throughout the year within its 91 teams. Of the extra funding of €6.89 million allocated for the wait list initiative, 2,500 of our longest waiters will benefit. Believe it or not, there was another €5 million there as well. The HSE is also outsourcing that. It is the equivalent of 1,850 other additional people as well. It is all being streamlined towards the longest waiters, bar what is within the CDNT gift of the 3,200. That is where children will need to have that assessment if they need to access education or other parts of it. That, in itself, is the guts of 6,700 AONs to be completed and it is being broken down on a percentage basis to every CHO across the country.

Senator O'Loughlin asked about her own CHO. I do not have the figures in front of me but I remember that in excess of 4,500, between current assessment of needs and PTAs, needed to be done in CHO 7. Am I correct that it is CHO 7?