Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 158: To ask the Minister for Health the extent to which he hopes to put in place adequate diagnostic and support services for children with special needs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32657/11]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Services have been developed by individual service providers or former Health Boards over time and reflect the individual experience and expertise of providers in meeting local needs. This has led to variations in the way services are configured and, in relation to the provision of supports for children with disabilities, the Health Service Executive (HSE) has recognised the need to enhance the level of consistency and standardisation in the way both early intervention services and services for school-aged children with disabilities are delivered. The reconfiguration of existing therapy resources to geographic based teams for children and young people has been identified as a priority and is a 'Key Result Area' in the Executive's National Service Plan 2011.

National, regional and local level structures are being put in place to progress this initiative, which will have a positive impact on the assessment process for children with disabilities and the provision of appropriate clinical services and supports to them.