Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. I acknowledge the work of Cara Darmody in highlighting the very important issues he mentioned. Supporting people, particularly children with disabilities, is an absolute priority for this Government. A total of €3.2 billion was allocated for disability services in the budget. Almost one third my Department's budget is focused on supporting children with additional needs. We know there is more work to do.

On assessments of need, the Minister of State, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, is working with the Minister, Deputy Norma Foley, to make sure that any changes that need to be made to the overall structure are made in order that we can address the challenges and the backlog and that, most importantly, children get access to the services. Parents want their children to have assessments of need, but we need to make sure they are getting the services at the end of the day. That is where the focus needs to be. For my part, it is making sure that children get access to the places in schools to which they are entitled. A huge amount of work has been done in that regard. We must also ensure that when they are in school, they are getting access to therapies.

I have replied to Cara and said I am very open to meeting with her. I hope to do so in the coming days. We will certainly meet.

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