Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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I thank our guests for their valuable contributions. I acknowledge, as we address the important issue of waiting lists for children in accessing assessments of need, that yesterday was World Down Syndrome Day. This has been a very constructive engagement and it was very useful to hear what we have heard. Others have expressed very clearly the frustration of families and parents. In our constituencies, we all hear about the delays, long waiting lists and difficulties in accessing assessments of need and interventions for children. In my constituency, Dublin Day South, there are really serious issues over delays in conducting assessments for children with autism and a lack of places. It is immensely frustrating for parents and families in those circumstances. Others have spoken about inconsistency between different geographical areas. That is clearly a major issue too.

I want to focus on two points. One is the issue of the cause of the delays, particularly difficulties in accessing assessments. We have talked about the panel system and the recruitment and retention issues. It sounds as though, as Professor MacLachlan said, the biggest cause of the delays is the lack of supply, or the pipeline issue whereby we are simply not ensuring there are enough qualified staff. I was particularly struck by Ms O’Connor’s comment about the lack of dieticians and our dependency on overseas recruitment in this regard. The ombudsman has asked us to think about what is required from the Government if the HSE is to be able to meet its obligations under Part 5 of the Disability 2005 Act to ensure children receive the services they need in a timely manner. That is a crucial question. What is needed from the Government? It sounds as if one key ask, which is not a short-term ask, as has been said, is more resourcing at third level to ensure training places are provided to bring enough people through the pipeline, although it would take some years to deliver. That is one key means of addressing the shortfall in the supply of qualified staff. Is that an ask we should be pushing the Government on?

My second point, which relates to what the ombudsman has pointed out, concerns the recent High Court judgment, the SOP process and the fact that the court has found that the procedure is not in line with what is required under the Act. I am struck again by comments about a necessary review of the 2005 Act and the contention that the provisions of that Act are now somewhat outdated, but people are anxious that a review would not dilute the quality of services for children or the obligations on the State to provide services. My key question concerns how the HSE proposes to revise the process. I note Mr. Reid says he accepts the judgment and will not be appealing it. Therefore, given that the revision is under way, what sorts of adjustments are likely to be made to the process? When are we likely to see a new process in place? The ombudsman may wish to comment because he has said his view is that, in light of the High Court judgments, the review of the standard operating procedure is redundant and continued implementation is untenable. Clearly, however, nobody wants to see children falling between the cracks while the process is being reviewed. It is a matter of considering the transitional phase while the process is being reviewed. When we are likely to see a reviewed process, and what changes are likely to be made?