Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I have a follow-up question to what I asked earlier. The witnesses have all laid it out. Ms Walker-Strong spoke about the idea that first we need to make sure we have data. Then we are talking about a proper screening system. This is not just for kids with disabilities; it is also something we definitely need from a child protection view. Then we need a responsive system with regard to assessments and therapies. Everyone has been won over on in-school therapies but without a timeline we will have everybody running towards the 45 special schools and this will create its own difficulty. It is also about knowing what the plan is and how much engagement there will be with parents.

We have had a considerable conversation on the assessments. The witnesses have dealt with some of the issues regarding therapies. I know from when we took our Turlough for speech and language therapy we were getting photocopies. Some of the therapy was very good and sometimes the fall-down was my fault. My wife generally did most of the heavy lifting. If we had had an AAC device that could have been shared with the school and everyone, from the SNA to the teacher to the principal, alongside whatever other training was there, we would all be in a very different place. It is a case of how best we can put it in play. I used to use the terrible line about getting the best bang for our buck. I ask the witnesses to try to answer this in three and a half minutes and give us the perfect system.