Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Deputy. What we inherited was quite significant despite a significant amount of money being spent annually. It became clear, on looking at the situation when we entered Government, that what was in place was not working and that we had to reconfigure the entire service. That is what we are in the process of doing. We have been extraordinarily lucky in getting someone like Pat Healy to come in and drive that change. He has experience far beyond anyone I know in terms of disability. I know him from his work in the south. What we are doing is ensuring children, despite the fact they may not be attached to a particular service, have access to community-based early intervention teams. It is a process of building those teams, and that is what we are doing. We have managed to get €4 million in funding this year, in very tight circumstances, to ensure that service is put in place. It will take a little more time, perhaps another year or two, but at that point I believe we will have a better service. I believe also that we must get away from the concept of having to have a diagnosis before one gets a service.

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