Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for his contributions and concern. Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People is the policy underpinning children's disability services. The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, and I met the CEO of the HSE, Mr. Paul Reid, and senior officials on Wednesday to discuss a number of disability issues, including Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People. An agreed outcome of the meeting was that a plan would be developed in the coming six to eight weeks with a number of actions to support the roll-out of Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People. I hope this will address some of the matters the Senator has raised. It is important to note the Government has provided significant funding to the HSE for new posts in recent years to strengthen the capacity of the children's disability network teams throughout the country, including in Cavan and Monaghan. Since 2019, almost 500 additional whole-time equivalent posts for children's disability services have been allocated. I will continue in my efforts at local and national level to address the obstacles that exist in recruitment and other important issues. I will take on board the issue with regard to parentage.