Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I welcome our guests and thank them for attending. I have a couple of questions. The witnesses made reference to collating data but collecting data is equally important. To what extent have they been in a position to collect as much data as possible, as quickly as possible? The collation comes after that, but the collection is obviously the first part of it.

Has the IASLT had competition from overseas for the skills set within the sector? Most other sectors have had challenges from overseas and difficulty in retaining staff. I would like the witnesses to comment on that.

Waiting times seem to be a problem everywhere. Is this entirely due to a shortage of staff? Are there other issues? Is it a shortage of staff plus appropriate skills, or a combination of all of those?

I had occasion in the past to visit other countries where different treatments are available. In the old days, oddly enough, Hungary developed a particular set of skills and treatments that seemed to be better or had more effect than what was available in this country. In some cases they had a dramatic effect. I would like a comment on that.

I have recently been dealing with the case of a child with ASD who has been receiving home tuition, having previously been in a special class. When moved to home tuition, the child improved dramatically. The child's condition worsened in the special class, apparently because of having to compete with the surroundings. There had not been the same level of individual attention one would expect from home tuition. I would like the witnesses to comment on that.

Reference has been made to a report that is on the shelves of the HSE. How long has it been there? When is it likely to be published? There is not much sense in issuing reports. The world is great at issuing reports. All Departments are good at reports, but after that nothing happens. The first thing that has to happen is that a report must be published.