I thank Deputy Ó Murchú. I thought that was what it was. My apologies.

That is okay. It is good confusion. I thought we had moved on to the next question.

That is good. It keeps me on my toes.

No, the Minister is fine. I thank Deputies Ward and Ó Murchú for their questions. The question is on recruitment and retention of our staff, including therapists in our voluntary and community sectors. We are doing everything to make sure pay is fair. This is why there was a call to the WRC. The Minister, Deputy Foley, and I have brought a memo to Cabinet welcoming the talks at the WRC. From the Government's point of view, we want to make sure people are paid fairly and valued for the work they do. This is very cle…

A CDNT workforce survey was conducted on 16 October 2024. This survey captured staffing levels across various disciplines and grades, providing a snapshot of the current workforce across 93 CDNTs. While this report only provides us with a snapshot in time, with recruitment having continued in the interim, it is the most comprehensive workforce report we have on CDNTs. It is expected that the full report will be published by the HSE in the coming weeks. The returning data indicates that the CDNT workforce increased …

As the Deputy knows, we have the pilot of in-school therapists in Dublin, Cork and Galway being rolled out. He is absolutely correct about recruitment and the need to ensure we are recruiting. We have recruitment efforts across the HSE, section 38 and section 39 organisations to on-board staff and have sustained outreach and engagement, for example, with secondary schools and higher education institutions to expose more students to the rewarding and impactful nature of working in the disability services and CDNTs. …

I thank the Deputy. I absolutely agree that the school inclusion model has been a real success. I will come back with the figures. It is my understanding that there are about 500 vacancies but I will revert to the Deputy just in case that number has been updated. My door is open in relation to meeting therapists. I have been engaging with service providers, service users and stakeholders since I came into this role. That is absolutely key if we are to get this right and get the policy right. We need to be listening…

That is not Question No. 122. Is that an additional question?

The current delays in accessing assessments of need as well as therapy services are acknowledged and work is ongoing with the HSE to maximise the capacity of CDNTs to deliver therapy interventions to children and to produce assessments of need. This is being done via recruitment campaigns and other measures. In October 2023, the HSE published a roadmap for service improvement that focuses on the ongoing development of CDNT services to meet current and growing demand. One of these measures is the Government's decisi…

I agree with the Deputy that more needs to be done. That is an absolute commitment from me, as Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities, and the Government, to look at whatever we can do to make sure that children are getting their therapies. Also, as the Deputy knows, CHO 9 is composed of local health offices of north Dublin, Dublin north centre and north-west Dublin. Some 1,690 assessment of needs applications were received in CHO 9 in 2024. That marks, as I said, an increase of 14% from 2022. I do …

I congratulate Deputy Currie on a personal level on her election in Dublin West. I know how passionate and hard-working she is. It is great to see her rewarded and sitting in Dáil Éireann today. I know her family are very proud and, in particular, I know her father would be very proud of what she has achieved. I look forward to working with her. I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Foley, and I will raise the issues Deputy Currie has raised directly with the Minister. They are very impor…

I thank Deputy Currie. Her passion for this issue has been very clear throughout her contributions this morning and previously. I will relay the points she has raised to the Minister, Deputy Foley, who has responsibility for this area. The introduction of core funding in 2022 brought a significant increase in investment for the sector of €259 million, paid directly to services in the first year of the scheme, of which €210.8 million was entirely new funding. Now in its third year of operation, core funding is worth…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. I would like to update Members of the House that the Government recognises that there is an ambiguity in Standing Orders which requires clarification in differentiating between members of the Opposition and the Government. The Government believes our Dáil is ever evolving and that Standing Orders should evolve to reflect the membership and groupings of the House. The Government will today bring forward a motion to establish the Committee on Standing Orders and Dáil Reform, to fully enga…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. It is proposed that the following arrangements shall apply in relation to the business to be taken today: - the proceedings on the nominations for Taoiseach shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 45 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply thereto: - the allocation of time shall be as follows: - speeches of a proposer and seconder 5 minutes each; and - speeches by representatives of parties who have not made a nomination 7 minutes per party; - if …

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. It is proposed that the following arrangements shall apply to the business to be taken today: - The proceedings on the nominations for Taoiseach shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 1 hour and 20 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply thereto: - the allocation of time shall be as follows: - speeches of a proposer and seconder 5 minutes each; and - speeches by representatives of parties and the prospective technical groups who have not made a n…

----- - the proceedings on the motion re establishment of Select Committee on Subsidiarity (European Union Legislative Scrutiny) shall be taken as the last item of business without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately; and - on the conclusion of the proceedings on the business outlined, the Dáil shall adjourn until 2 p.m. on Wednesday, 5 February 2025.

On the timings for this morning, every party gets ten minutes each. If people wish to propose and second someone for Taoiseach-----

-----then they can do it within their allocated time. Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and every party and technical group has the same amount of time.

Today as Members of Dáil Éireann, we are all here to elect a Government and Taoiseach following the result of the general election. That is our duty. The Ceann Comhairle has given a clear commitment to work with all parties and none to resolve the issue of the technical group. I reiterate the Government's clear commitment to work with her and that process to resolve that to ensure we have a politically acceptable solution. The Dáil will resume on 5 February and I want to ensure that together, we can ensure we have …

The meeting will be 30 minutes long and parties will then have 15 minutes.