Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The failure to deliver assessments of need and intervention therapies for families has been discussed. If we got workforce planning correct today, though I do not think we have, we would be talking about four or five years before we are able to deliver the numbers that are required. A meeting of the Joint Committee on Autism earlier was attended by representatives of the Psychological Society of Ireland, the Association of Occupational Therapists of Ireland and the Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists. They spoke about a need for themselves and all the stakeholders in the HSE to be involved in a forum or discussion to review both the assessment and the means of intervention to provide best practice as best we can at this point. I know the Chair is going to request that the Taoiseach meet with these three groups. What does the Government propose to deal with these specific issues and what does the Department of the Taoiseach intend to do?

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