Ms Áine Lawlor:

In terms of a caseload, there is no easy or specific answer. We have old data on caseloads, but our services and what people need has changed.

It is hard to say what we can deliver any more because there are so many gaps in that. People have come without having had services and then our teams are not resourced. Ideal becomes harder in that context.

There is also a gap in data for what the actual need is out there that we can resource. Some special schools will have a different profile of needs within them that will require a different staffing level. There has been some work to look at caseloads and to look internationally at what caseloads are challenging. There is still no clear information on that. There is a gap in caseload data and workforce planning that goes with that. That is something that is really necessary for our health service to develop, along with education.