Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I will communicate to the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, Deputy Ó Cuív's frustration at the situation. I will ask for her projection of when the services will be delivered. The Deputy can see from the answer that the problems seem to stem from a lack of staff - half of the positions in CDNT 4 are currently vacant. The HSE has turned to private service providers and has an allocation of nearly €7 million to provide an additional 2,500 assessments over the coming six months. Clearly, it is trying other options. The Deputy suggested that we look into faster mutual recognition of qualifications from jurisdictions such as the UK in order that we can recruit staff more quickly. I will suggest that to the Minister of State.

The HSE launched its first nationwide CDNT campaign in January 2024. Following a further validation and engagement process by the lead agencies, the HSE advises that as of June 2024, 145 job offers have been made to successful candidates, with about 53 in the final stages of the recruitment process. A second recruitment campaign applying learnings from the first will start shortly. I reassure the Deputy of the Minister of State's commitment to working with the HSE to enhance CDNT capacity, find effective solutions to reduce wait times and to ensure children and young people with complex needs have timely access to services in CDNT 4 and, of course, across the country. I will communicate to the Minister of State the Deputy's concern.

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