Dr. Catherine Long:

I will keep it brief. I wish to address the issue of access and variability, which I think is a very important point. In the context of Northern Ireland and the UK, I refer to a 2011 publication by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which is UK-based. It indicated that an assessment for autism spectrum disorder, ASD, takes approximately 47 hours on average. The Psychological Society of Ireland, PSI, would certainly welcome a review of services throughout the country in order to find out what works and what does not and look at how services can be reconfigured in areas where they are not working. I also think it would be useful to have the information around staffing levels, population levels and demographics in different areas. Can that information explain why some areas have longer waiting lists than others? They are two possible issues to be looked at in addressing why services are much more accessible in some areas than in others.