Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

These checks are crucial for the early identification of any developmental concerns, allowing for timely interventions. and they can significantly enhance or basically curse a child's prospects in the future if it is not looked at. Parents are understandably concerned about the need to have their children assessed in a timely manner, and it cannot be done privately. Maybe that needs to be examined in the context of something like the treatment purchase fund while we are trying to sort it out.

In the limited time I will mention the cross-cover arrangements in place for priority cases. It is not fair, taking the country as a whole, that one area can be well staffed and then areas such as in my constituency are not as well staffed and the load is not being spread out. That needs to be examined, but there was little mention of a Dublin allowance in the response. I would like to see it looked at because it is best practice in other countries, and as well as pay increases, we need to entice people in high-cost environments to come to work here.

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