Ms Kate Duggan:

We have been open. In the 2024 accounts, we had 96,600 referrals. We already know that is going to go over 105,000 referrals this year. Our staff have been dealing with 10%, 20% or 30% increases in referrals year on year. From our data and from HIQA as regards its external oversight and what it stated in its most recent reports, we know we are responding to the children who are most in need. However, we have situations where children who are medium or low priority have to wait longer to get a service. Our job is to use whatever resources are provided to us to the best effect, prioritise them for the children and families who are most at risk and make sure we are connecting children and families with other universal services.