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

As I said to the Deputy, of the 221 whole-time equivalent posts, 126 have been filled. Wherever they are in the country, at this stage there is a shortfall of more than 700 whole-time equivalent staff on our CDNT teams, which have a role in supporting our special schools. The Wexford model has been phenomenal in the sense that there has been real collaboration there. I have no doubt the same collaboration is in Cork as well between our teaching body and local CDNT teams, where there is a knowledge of where the capacity was within the private sector to support this. There was no breach of data under data protection rules. They were able to support the local CDNT team in updating the children's records and passing on that information. That can still be done and the CDNT held the risk for all of the clinical governance on it.

I will finish on this point. As the Deputy quite rightly said, the role of Rainbow Club Cork is important. I have visited it twice and the Minister, Deputy O’Gorman, has been to Rainbow Club Cork. To be quite honest, without Rainbow Club Cork, which provides an additional 500 therapy interventions on a weekly basis, we would be having a far different conversation about the crisis in Cork. Rainbow Club Cork, under Karen and Jon O'Mahony, has played a phenomenal role. I was delighted last week to hear that the National Ambulance Service base has moved off-site and the key has gone to Cork City Hall. I hope the expression of interest will move along at pace so we have the opportunity to develop a centre of excellence in a lovely area where children do not have to keep putting away their goods on a daily basis. It is the intention of both myself and the Minister, Deputy O’Gorman, to support the Rainbow Club, as we do for any of these groups that provide valuable interventions when we do not have the capacity in our CDNT teams.

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