Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)

I do not have the individual's name. There has been a huge amount of collaboration between the Department of education, the NCSE, the HSE and the Department of children and disability. Last year, 39 therapists were put back into special schools across the country. They were at the highest level. We had a constant debate at Government level and right across the Departments on how this would work, would be overseen and would have the trust of the families and children that would benefit from it. Therefore, we had to have it signed off by the HSE and the Department of children. Any therapist who comes in and is working within the system has to be approved by CORU and the clinical teams in order to be regulated. We have to have it right. In regard to the work that is being done, one of the major pieces is to get more and more. The Senator made a point about the CRC. Right now, we do not have enough therapists in the system. In response to the Senator's question about who did the clinical sign-off on this, I can inform him that the clinical sign-off is the State, the HSE and the Department of children and disability.