One of the major difficulties facing the health service in delivering support services to people with disabilities and those in other areas of the service is the shortage of certain professionals such as speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and psychologists. Progress has been made in this area and also in implementing the recommendation made in the Bacon report on manpower planning. Significant progress has been achieved in boosting the number of therapy training places in line with the recommendations of the report, Current and Future Supply and Demand Conditions in the Labour Market for Certain Professional Therapists, prepared by Dr. Peter Bacon and Associates and published in June 2001. The report concluded that a major expansion was essential in the numbers of therapy professionals over the next 15 years, comprising an increase of over 150% in occupational therapists and a fourfold increase in speech and language therapists.