Gillian Toole (Meath East, Independent)

Good morning everybody and I apologise for being few minutes late. I thank the team for the preparation in advance of today and all of the documents. I thank the Minister of State for his updates. I will list off my queries. Could the members of the Minister of State's support team - the senior members of the Department - outline their roles and areas of responsibility? As a new TD, I am not familiar with them.

What is happening in the area of early years and preschool? I am specifically interested in the issue of recruitment in respect of both the NCSE and the HSE. Are there difficulties arising there because both are effectively recruiting from the same pool of professionals? How is that going? I previously inquired in the Dáil, and when Mr. Bernard Gloster appeared before the committee, whether it would be possible to use the cross-border directive or the National Treatment Purchase Fund or both to assist parents in covering or being reimbursed for the costs of the very expensive assessment of needs. Is there a data collection agreement in place between the Department, the NCSE and the HSE?

Is anything happening in the area of alternative therapies such as emotional regulation, etc., as referenced in the Act and discussed previously? We have presentations in this area in our work plan for this term from providers. Is the Department officially looking into anything or will it be a case of the committee referring the issue to it and working from there?

The Minister of State made two references to the EPSEN Act 2004. Regarding the continuum of the support model, the one-stop access point for parents and for teachers to flag for pupils is very welcome. The pilot will commence on the transition from primary to secondary education. Is anything happening for students enrolling in primary school? Is anything happening to provide a seamless transition and the continuum of support for these children? Are there developments or matters for consideration in the realm of the wonderful provision of care by special needs assistants? This is purely for information but it will also assist me and probably my colleagues in our interactions with constituents' queries.