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

I could not agree more with the Deputy. That is why we are getting it done and why we are using a trial basis in Galway, Waterford and Donegal to see if, by freeing up the panels, we can get those ten posts that are required in Tuam filled, along with all the other CDNTs. PDS has been rolled out for the past two years in Galway with a caseload of 700. I know the people on the ground are working so hard on it, but looking at the staffing levels and taking out administration and everything else, it could be said there is a staffing level of approximately 14. If we were to put 700 children over a 48-week period and work that out, that would be 14 children seen every single week. To be quite honest, the HSE, along with management, need to review their KPIs and look at how they are delivering services, how they are engaging and how exactly they are communicating. To hear they only have phone numbers for 100 children gives me serious cause for worry.

See this speech in context