Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We need an absolute focus on this issue. We have all seen the silo operations. On the particular issue around Senan, we need the multidisciplinary team to be set up as soon as possible. Will the Minister of State respond with a timeline for that? I hope the pay and numbers strategy will not negatively affect the delivery of it as this would be unacceptable. We are talking about a family who has been failed over many years.

The other idea we need to work that people always talk about is that of there being no wrong door and having a one-stop shop. In the Scottish equivalent of CAMHS, all the families go through one place and the services are provided as they are best suited. We need an assessment of the entire need. Something has been done on the CDNTs. In October, I think, there was a workforce review and according to that, 530 positions are vacant in the CDNTs. With how the CDNTs are set up, to deliver assessments and therapies will require many more than 530 additional staff. I have raised school-based therapies with the Minister of State previously.

We have heard about the autism protocol as a means by which there would be no ping pong between the CDNT or primary care and CAMHS. We need to ensure that happens. It also need to be ensured that all the teams are in place because a family cannot be failed because it fits in a certain box but the team is not in place. That is not forgivable in any way, shape or form.

I will revisit this issue. Will the Minister of State outline a delivery time for the multidisciplinary team so we can at least get that under way? Will she also talk to the Minister for Education about the current issues in schools?

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