Joint Committee on Children, Disability, Equality, Integration & Youth to meet to consider the Ombudsman for Children’s report and Waiting Lists for children in accessing an assessment of needs.

The meeting will be broadcast from Committee Room 4 at 3pm and will include submissions from representatives from:

·       The Office of the Ombudsman for Children, Dr Niall Muldoon, Ombudsman.

·       Ms Karen McAuley, Head of Policy, and Ms Ciara McKenna-Keane, External Investigator.

·       Mr Paul Reid, Chief Executive of the Health Service Executive

·       Ms Anne O’Connor, Chief Operations Officer of the HSE.

·       Mr Bernard O’Regan, Head of Operations Disability Services.

·       Professor Malcolm MacLachlan, Clinical Lead for People with Disabilities.

·       Ms Angela O’Neill, National Disability Specialist, Community Operations.

·       Mr TJ Dunford, Head of Primary Care Operations

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Committee Leas-Chathaoirleach, Deputy Patrick Costello TD said: “The Committee is looking forward to the discussion with the senior stakeholders involved in this matter of national importance. As a Committee we will continue to strive to address the protection of all our children and to bring focus to the issue of waiting lists for children in accessing an assessment of needs.”

The Joint Committee on Children, Disability, Equality, Integration & Youth has 14 Members, nine from the Dáil and five from the Seanad.

You can view the meeting in Committee Room 4 on Oireachtas TV