Dr. Louise Burgoyne:

On behalf of the Irish Assistance Dogs umbrella group, I thank the committee for inviting us to make these presentations. I will brief the committee on the current research in the sector and our work within the umbrella group. The positive effects of assistance dogs, AD, programmes have generated considerable interest and enthusiasm from care givers, service providers and researchers. I have provided supplementary information to the committee so members can refer to that for references to the published literature. Essentially, there is a need for more rigour in this evidence base and a greater clarity on the deployment of resources in this area. To this end, researchers at UCC are working within this new umbrella group to strengthen the understanding of the impacts of AD services on family functioning.

Ireland has been at the forefront in the development of assistance dogs programmes. Launched in 2005, the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind assistance dogs programme for families of children with autism spectrum disorder, ASD, was the first of its kind in Europe. Since then there has been a surge in development, resulting in the establishment of three more charities in the area. Our research to date with members of this group has included an evaluation of parents' perceptions of assistance dogs for families with children with ASD. Our findings indicate that they are a valuable resource for families.

On the basis of this study, we developed a protocol and we were funded by the Irish Research Council to carry out a user-led needs assessment of AD services in Ireland. The findings indicate that while the need to protect children from environmental hazards are currently being met outside the home, there is a need to sustain child safety within the home, a need for increased access to these services and a need for additional resources. There is also a role for technology in the development of AD services in Ireland. We are currently seeking funding opportunities to carry out a complete economic evaluation to estimate the costs associated with these services, the cost effectiveness and the cost per quality adjusted life year, or QALY. We have recently engaged as well with the life sciences interface group at Tyndall National Institute with regard to increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of ADs using advanced technological solutions.

The committee can refer to the supplementary slides in respect of this also.

Currently there are 188 service animal interventions registered with the international standards body Assistance Dogs International, ADI. Assistance dogs include guide dogs for the vision impaired, hearing dogs for the hearing impaired and assistance dogs for people with other disabilities such as autism. I will now give the committee some definitions because it is important to clarify what kind of dogs are involved in certain interventions. There are three formal groupings of animal-assisted interventions which involve dogs. We have service-animal programmes, with which we are most familiar and include guide dogs and assistance dogs. These assist people in their daily lives and live in-house with them. We have animal-assisted activities which are delivered by trained personnel in environments such as hospitals and educational settings. A good example is a therapy dog trained to provide affection and comfort to patients in nursing homes. We also have animal-assisted therapies, which are practised by professionals, including psychologists, psychiatrists and occupational therapists, and have individualised therapy goals. The goal is on improving physical, social and cognitive functioning. An example is an occupational therapist who may work to promote fine motor skill development in a child via a series of structured tasks with a dog. A "companion dog" describes a dog that provides companionship as a pet and is akin to the family dog.

I will now pass the committee over to Ms Dowler who will talk a little further about the umbrella group charities.