David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have two final questions, which either the Minister or the Minister of State might address. Are the current preliminary team assessments still being carried out? Some parents have indicated they have received letters to say they have been paused. We have a right to know if they have been paused.

Will the Minister or the Minister of State give us a guarantee that they will not dilute the 2005 Act? A very senior HSE official, when she was appearing before the Joint Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, stated the HSE's hands are tied when it comes to preliminary team assessments under the 2005 Act. She went on to state it might be a solution to amend the Act, which many of us took to mean there could be an attempt to dilute the rights of children under the Act for a proper assessment of need. That is not acceptable and it will be fiercely resisted. It is important that either the Minister or the Minister of State offer a guarantee - I have asked twice now - that they will not dilute the rights of children by amending the Act.

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