Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Chairman. I am in my office in Leinster House. I thank Dr. Morgan and his team for appearing before the committee. It is important for them to appear and this is my first time to meet them. I welcome the actions outlined by Dr. Morgan. All present know that early diagnosis is essential for children in particular, but also for their families. It concerns me that the overview of a report on the website of the National Disability Authority states:

People with disabilities are the neglected citizens of Ireland. On the eve of the 21st century, many of them suffer intolerable conditions because of outdated social and economic policies....

That is a concern for me.

Although I welcome the €7.8 million that has been provided to clear the backlog, the preliminary team assessment seems to me to be almost like a box-ticking exercise. I do not believe it is providing children with the help they need to access supports.What exactly is it doing to provide supports to meet children's needs? It takes 90 minutes to assess a child. I have significant concerns about that, as well as about the fact that thousands of children have been waiting for years for assessment. All members of the committee know of these issues by virtue of the number of families in the areas we represent who are waiting for assessments and have contacted us. Many of them may choose to go private. I ask Dr. Morgan to respond on that point because I have real concerns in this regard.