Mark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. Once again, she gave an honest answer. That is the message I have got from the families I deal with. It is like what that woman said to me yesterday, that it was the first transparent answer she got after almost three years of asking. The Minister of State has given that today, albeit with the disturbing figure of 2,665 children that she has also given us. The Minister of State mentioned that is a crossroads we have to come back from urgently.

I appreciate the Minister of State will put in place the six regional teams but we also need to address that statement by the HSE that an assessment of need is not needed, because it is. That is huge. The HSE representatives were at pains to point out at the committee that it is not needed, but the first question every clinician visited by families I have dealt with ask is where is the child's report or assessment of need. They will not talk to the families unless they produce those. The Minister of State said her short-term goal is to address that and put those six regional teams in place, but we need to address something else. There is communication lacking somewhere when the HSE comes to the Committee on Autism and states an assessment of need is not required when the facts on the ground are completely different.

I thank the Minister of State for her honesty.