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

On reallocation of staff, I can tell the Senator that the part of the HSE teams which will always be reposted are the liaison officers. The reason is that the HSE holds the right to ensure the assessments are carried out within a legal framework. They will always be part of the HSE staff, so they will always be redeployed.

The current configuration is new and transferred across so we will be backfilling into the teams. However, experience is really important in our hubs. Why is experience important? The first reason is that it took us so long to sort out the paperwork. We do not need to start from there again, and it is all a paper-based exercise. It is ensuring that they go back to the right team when they are assessed so they will not have lost time, but be on the same length and further up to get their intervention. To me those teams are made up of experienced people within the CDNTs. It is also made up of primary care. Part of it will include some people from mental health for the simple reason that, before children are sent back to the CDNT, the next layer on the CHO assessment hub will assess if they are better fitted to mental health or CAMHS. They might perhaps fit better into primary care. The child will access the door that will open and deliver his or her services. For me, these teams represent a positive step. For the first time I can say we have delivered something on time, but it will be a combination of experience.