Mr. Alan Power:

I do not understand how representatives from the HSE can come in and say these things. The damage they are doing is incredible. They would be better off saying the HSE is not going to provide a service because people wait and those kids do not get that time back. They should come in and say it is not providing a service because then we could make alternative arrangements. To keep families waiting months and years for a service and not provide it is hugely damaging.

The EHCP is in place in the UK. It is clear that a lot of the Government bodies only respond to legislation so I would ask the committee to look at that. The EHCP gives the child a right, from an educational perspective, to an all-encompassing plan for their lives. It is managed by the council and councils are given specific personalised budgets to manage this. Something like that would be much better system than what we have now with disparate organisations not communicating.