Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In respect of the assessments of need, which the Deputy has raised, I was fortunate, with the help of my good colleague, the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, to secure €11.5 million to address the backlog for assessments of need. The last time I got such funding, we managed to clear that backlog. However, it is no good clearing the backlog unless we have a proper process for the timely delivery of interventions. To that end, the funding has now been secured and the plan has been put in place for delivering and administering the service across the country. There are concerns in respect of CHO 5, and I say that openly. Ten of the 12 teams in the area are HSE teams. They have a good opportunity to recruit. They are able to recruit into mental health and services for older persons. They are able to recruit into primary care. I must continuously ask them why we cannot do the same in the disability sector.

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