Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)

That is the breakdown I received but I will go back and see if there is a further breakdown. The Deputy's question was specific but those were the figures I got back. I will come back to the Deputy if there is a further breakdown.

My Department and I know that more needs to be done in this area. My Department is working with the HSE to introduce specific recruitment and retention measures and incentives for therapists to work in our CDNTs, including the CDNT sponsorship initiative and facilitating direct access for funded agencies to existing professional panels. In 2025, we allocated €10 million in additional funding to be made available specifically for children's services, and that funding focused on recruiting for various positions right across our CDNTs. That included 20 senior therapist posts, 20 staff-grade posts, 20 health and social care assistants posts and 15 clinical trainee posts. Measures have also been provided to assist with sustainability. That is to address the assessment of need backlog while freeing up resources for therapists to actually carry out the therapeutic supports.

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