Dr. Rosalyn Tamming:

I thank the Deputy for raising those points. On accessibility, I mentioned the code of practice on accessible public services and information, which is a significant code of practice covering many areas. A revised version is currently with the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, for sign-off. It has been reconsidered to ensure autism is fully covered therein. We hope it will be signed off soon. We are also in the process of developing a code of practice on accessible buildings. Both those areas fall within Part 3 of the Disability Act but they are quite difficult to monitor. If the codes of practice are in place, the monitoring can begin. We have carried out monitoring on accessible public services and recently wrote to all Departments and agencies regarding the prominence of access officer details on their website. Small things like that will lead to incremental changes and that will build up.

The Deputy referred to therapists having appeared before the committee and saying that it will take a long time to build up enough supply. The thinking of the HSE when it developed the preliminary assessment was probably that it needed to move these children along and get them the therapies as soon as possible, but it has limited resources. That may have sort of backfired on the HSE. The therapists were never in favour of that model but there needs to be a compromise somewhere along the way. That is the only way this will work. The perfect cannot be the enemy of the good because, if that is what happens, it is the children who will suffer.

The Deputy referred to the issue of personal assistants in schools or colleges. It is not just an issue in that sphere; it is across the sector. There is a shortage and there are issues with allocation, hours and all that. The education system is quite good in the provision of personal assistants at third level, however, in terms of making funding available. The Deputy's experience in that regard may be different from mine. It is there to some extent, however. The problem for many of these students is that they graduate and then wish to get a job but there is no clear system for them to get a personal assistant to support them in their employment. That is a big gap in the system.

I will hand over to Mr. Hunt, who may have something to add.