Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

I acknowledge the additional places and the work of the Tánaiste and of the former Minister in the Department, Deputy O'Donovan, in this area. However, I am really talking about long-term workforce planning and how it needs to be linked with collaboration and shared data. For instance, the Disability Capacity Review to 2032, published by the HSE, states that 3.5% of the child population require special input from CDNTs. The Joint Committee on Autism's report speaks about the overall need to tackle unmet need. The Department of Education is using figures such as 5%. Does the Minister agree that collaboration across these Departments is essential? Are we using levers used in other models to incentivise people to take up places in this area? I refer to Springboard and the model we use for clinical psychologists, who get 60% of their studies funded and get paid for their placements. Other countries provide forgiveness on student loans.

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