Mr. Odhrán Allen:

I need to clarify that the service is not in the south east but in the south, in Cork. The provision of money to put progressive disability services in place and employ and recruit the necessary professionals to run the service is part of the issue. Some €14 million was allocated for 275 additional posts to progress disability services between 2014 and 2016. When staff in children's disability services were mapped in 2016, there were only 175 more whole-time professional equivalents than in 2013. We can only assume that where the extra posts were filled, even though there are difficulties in recruiting staff, others were becoming vacant and staff were not replaced owing to the moratorium on recruitment. There are several factors - it can be difficult to recruit staff and it can also be that staff are leaving and not being replaced. It is also the nature of many professions that different audits identify that at any one time there may be up to 10% of posts vacant due to staff being on maternity leave and there being no backfilling. On the question of resources, there is the question of buildings, information technology and administration. Staff on maternity leave is also a significant issue.