Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy did raise that issue. I will talk to the HSE, the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, and the Department of Education and I will ask the Minister for Education, and the Minister for Health in respect of the CDNTs, to come back to the Deputy on this. As I said earlier, we need multidisciplinary teams in schools. The progressing disability services programme has not worked. It has not been effective and quite a number of communities have been impacted negatively as a result of the withdrawal of therapists from special schools in particular over the years as a result of implementation of the progressing disability services programme. I have argued this with the HSE. My view now is that the sufficiency of recruitment has not worked in terms of some CDNTs. There will have to be change and my preference is for stronger multidisciplinary teams in special schools.

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