Ms ?ine Lawlor:

There would be issues with that funding and the ethics for that based on the research that has happened to date, from a research point of view, in terms of the outcomes of it on a wider level. What we need, and what would be welcomed, is access to AAC, which is individualised and requires an assessment of a person's communication profile and what would work best for them. That is what we would recommend, and that is what we have seen being effective. There have been projects in the west where they have funded access to devices for people, as well as adequate assessment and intervention to help them use that. That has been very effective. Those are the pilots for which we are advocating.