Hildegarde Naughton
Galway West · Fine Gael · Ireland
“It is an absolute commitment in the programme for Government to reduce the pupil-teacher ratio over the lifetime of the Government. The Deputy will appreciate I cannot announce anything here in the Dáil. I have to go into negotiations in relation to the upcoming budget.”
“Where we can, we give guidance and I know schools are very well aware of this. They do this well themselves so that where possible, the more junior classes would have a lower class size.”
“The identification model has to be applied consistently right across the country to have fairness and transparency around it. Under the DEIS strategy to 2035, work is under way in my Department, with colleagues in the Central Statistics Office and across other Departments, to utilise other administrative data sources to help improve how w…”
“The school referred to by the Deputy submitted an application under the additional school accommodation, ASA, scheme for an additional temporary classroom in 2025. This school had previously been approved for a permanent extension under the ASA scheme in 2021 for a two-classroom special education needs unit and one mainstream classroom.”
“A huge amount of work is being done on securing specialist places, be it in special classes or special schools. We are far ahead of where we were this time last year. We had a budget for 400 special classes. I got increased funding in March of this year. We are ahead in relation to forward planning.”
“The general average of pupils to teachers in the primary staffing schedule improved from 26:1 five years ago to 23:1 for the current school year. Average class sizes in primary schools have improved from 24.1 to 22.2 through the investment we are making in schools.”
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“As the Deputy is aware, the Department of Justice policy document for non-EEA family reunification, which was last amended in 2016, is under review. While this review is ongoing, it is not possible to pre-empt what changes may be introduced. The Minister has advised that the review is examining a wide range of matters relating to applications for family reunification. He expects that the next stage of the review will be concluded soon. Officials from his Department have consulted with a wide variety of stakeholders, including relevant Departments and external organisations, and will continue to engage with stakeholders regarding any changes.”
“There are differences in the criteria applied to these applications. The Deputy outlined some, which are linked to the sponsors immigration permission. Health workers who are critical skills employment permit holders can apply for join family visas immediately. However, it is acknowledged that there are many healthcare professionals on general employment permits who are subject to additional waiting periods and financial thresholds. While some may find the difference in criteria difficult to understand, I assure the Deputy that the primary focus is to ensure that a sponsor is in a secure position and able to demonstrate a clear capacity to provide for family members before approving applications for families to join them here.”
“I thank Deputy Coppinger for raising this important issue, which I will bring to the attention of the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan. I am taking this on his behalf. The enormous contribution made by migrant workers, particularly those working in the health sector, is recognised and valued by this Government. It is a central priority for the Minister that our immigration laws are fair and efficient. An important part of this is having legal pathways for workers and their families. I am advised by the Minister that there has been a significant increase in join family visa applications received by his Department. Approximately 22,000 such visa applications were made last year, an increase of 14% on 2023. The vast majority receive a decision within 12 months. In 2024, the average processing time for these applications was 72 calendar days.”
“People have referred to the incidence levels of those saying that they have a disability. People are ageing, we are all living longer and disability will be part of what we in the House have to deal with.”
“We also have to ensure that our disability services are appropriately and adequately resourced and staffed to meet the needs of people with disabilities. I look forward to the development of that dedicated disability workforce strategy this year, which will meet the growing service demands and address recruitment and retention challenges across specialist disability services. It is also important to emphasise that increased capacity and enhanced service delivery in the disability sector will not be possible unless we as a Government ensure that we are resourcing it properly and ambitiously. We are spending €3.2 billion on our HSE disability services this year, an 11.5% increase on last year or €1.2 billion since 2020. This is significant funding. I appreciate that there are significant pressures.”
“It may require legislative changes while preserving the statutory right to an assessment of need. It will also require operational changes, increased staffing resources, better IT systems, or outsourcing to the private sector where appropriate. That work is already under way with officials from the Department of children and the HSE. That is set out in the roadmap for service improvement. We also have to ensure that any changes introduced are effective and can be sustained over time. There is no point in alleviating the current waiting list only to have another backlog appear. We need to look at the system and ensure we can reform it sustainably. We are all aware of the many demands within the healthcare system.”
“They may believe this will give them early or accelerated access to services but they often find themselves on a further waiting list after getting their assessments of need. There is also the issue of legal bills when parents feel they have to resort to the legal system to ensure they get their assessments of need. This is not where we want to be. What I want as Minister of State is to ensure that children are getting that early intervention and access to therapies at a much earlier stage, it is signposted and it works within the health service in particular. This will require us to address the issue from a number of angles. Our primary focus has to be on the assessment of need process and identifying the delays and blockages causing these long waiting lists. Then, we need to find the most effective solution to these blockages.”
“We will continue to provide and fund those private assessments as part of the solution. I am encouraged by the 30% increase in assessments completed last year compared to 2023. There was a 65% increase in completed assessments in the first three months of this year. We are moving in the right direction but we have much more to do. Parents want early access to services and supports for their children. In many cases, they seek support from primary care, CDNTs, CAMHS and are then told that they are going onto another waiting list. To repeat, that is not acceptable. It leads to many people applying for assessments of need, which is their statutory right as set out in the Disability Act.”
“The Minister, Helen McEntee, is doing a lot of work in this area. We are increasing the number of special classes and therapies in school and we will continue to do that, and to resource it as well. There are unacceptable delays in accessing assessments of need. The data has been set out many times this evening in respect of the 15,300 assessment of need applications that are overdue for completion. More than 10,600 new applications were received last year, with 4,100 assessments completed last year, so demand is clearly outstripping capacity within the system. That is something we need to address. The introduction of the targeted waiting list by the Government last May is helping, but we need to do much more. Over 3,600 assessments were commissioned from private providers between June of last year to the end of March.”
“She should not be here today; I concur with colleagues that nobody should have to protest outside the gates of Leinster House or a Department to get access to services that he or she needs. On the challenges associated with that assessment of need process, we need to consider a system-wide approach. It requires a proportionate response from the Government, one that is real, tangible and clear and provides positive outcomes for parents where they actually know the pathway in getting access to services for their children. We need to spell that out. The motion highlights some of the aspects of a complex issue, including the need to increase the availability of and access to appropriate services for children with disabilities and the need to ensure that children receive an education appropriate to their needs.”
“I am determined that we get this right but it is complex, as many Deputies have acknowledged. It is not just a question of reducing the waiting list. It is not just about recruitment and retention. It is also about looking at where an assessment of need is required. It is often not required by some of our Departments. In housing, for example, it is asked for but it is actually not required. One is entitled to get services and housing supports such as domiciliary care allowance. One does not need to provide an assessment of need. It is a smaller part of the jigsaw but these are all the areas we need to be looking at to get this right. I acknowledge Cara. I have met her previously. I know how she has been advocating not only for her own family but for families across the country.”
“These issues were raised in this debate. Again, I assure Deputies we are working hard across government on that. There is the no wrong door approach. This comes back to parents who want access to these services for their children, whether they go into the primary care setting, CDNTs or CAMHS, being signposted in the right direction and getting access to the services they need. The issue of the length of time for the assessments of need was raised. The average length of an assessment of need is approximately 30 hours and it can be up to 90 hours. We want to ensure that children or adults who are going through an assessment of need have access to the therapies they need at the earliest stage possible along that process. I know that parents are frustrated and angry. I meet them regularly in this brief, as I did in my previous brief.”
“We are dealing with the issue of waiting lists for assessments of need but we have to go right back to the start and those early milestones of a child’s life to ensure that where they are not meeting them they get access to those therapies at that level. That is what is happening as part of our national disability strategy. This is our all-of-government blueprint that we will be publishing in the coming weeks. It will be the blueprint over the next few years to ensure there is an action plan associated with that strategy as well. Returning to the Private Members’ motion on assessments of need, there is a huge amount of work happening on recruitment and retention at domestic and international levels. CORU is working on recognising qualifications of people who are working abroad and want to come home.”
“In my last Ministry of State, where I had responsibility for special education, I travelled the length and breadth of the country and heard the lived experience of parents and teachers and of the children who do not have access to speech and language therapy and occupational therapy. We have put in place a pilot relating to special schools of putting therapists in schools. We are rolling that out to all special schools and beyond. That is work that is ongoing with Government. I want to make reference to a number of issues raised throughout the evening. Early intervention is absolutely critical if we are to get this right.”
“I acknowledge the contributions of everyone here and assure them this issue of assessment of need is a top priority for me as a Minister of State with responsibility for disability who sits at the Cabinet table and indeed it is a priority for the whole of Government, as is the national disability strategy. As Deputies know there is a disability unit set up within the Department of the Taoiseach. We have also had a number of Cabinet committee meetings on disability and assessment of need is a top priority. I assure Deputies I have heard and listened to all their comments. It is an absolute priority for me to ensure we have action on this. I will certainly be open to working with everyone across the House to ensure children have access to the services they require.”
“For example, we will work closely with the Department of Health on the resourcing of disability services, with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science on expanding the pipeline of future therapists, and with the Department of Education and Youth on the development of the national therapy service in education. There is no doubt that addressing the problems with the assessment of need process is a challenging piece of work. It requires a well thought-out, comprehensive plan to ensure all aspects of the system are examined and, where necessary, improved or fixed. It is a priority for the Government. We owe it to the children of Ireland and their families who are relying on the State to put in place a sustainable assessment of need system that works.”
“In this regard, I look forward to the development of a dedicated disability workforce strategy this year, to meet growing service demands and address recruitment and retention challenges across the specialist disability services. However, it is important to emphasise that increased capacity and enhanced service delivery in the disability sector will not be possible unless we, as a Government, ensure there are proper resources in place to service this ambition. A total of €3.2 billion has been allocated for HSE disability services this year. That is an 11.5% increase in funding on last year and an overall increase of €1.2 billion since 2020. This is a significant increase in funding, but I appreciate that significant pressures are facing the sector. Collaborative working across Departments will be vital over the coming period.”
“We must ensure that any changes introduced are effective and can be sustained over time. This will mean that whenever an application for an assessment of need is submitted, it is dealt with promptly and within the statutory timeframes. While this work is under way, we need to look at the wider system to identify the blockages that are resulting in long waiting lists for children who need to access HSE services and supports, whether these are in primary care, CAMHS or the children's disability network teams. We are all aware of the many demands on our healthcare system, but we must ensure that our disability services are appropriately and adequately resourced and staffed to meet the needs of people with disabilities in Ireland.”
“The problem is complex. Parents rightfully want access to services and supports for their children. In many cases, when they seek that support from primary care, CAMHS or children's disability network teams, they are told that they have been added to a long waiting list. This leads many people to apply for an assessment of need, a statutory right set out in the Disability Act. They may believe that this will give them early or accelerated access to services only to find that, even if they are provided with an assessment report, it leads only to another waiting list. Some parents feel they have no option but to turn to the legal system to ensure their statutory rights enshrined in the Act are met. The Minister, Deputy Foley, called this situation "untenable" and I agree. We can and should do better.”
“Those numbers do not work for anyone and it is clear that demand is greatly outstripping the capacity of the system to meet it. The introduction of the targeted waiting list by Government last May is without doubt helping, with over 3,600 assessments commissioned from private providers between June 2024 and the end of March this year. I am also encouraged by the 30% increase in assessments completed last year compared to 2023 and the 65% increase in completed assessments in the first three months of this year compared to the same period last year. These figures show we are moving in the right direction but we need to do much more, much faster. However, it is not enough to clear the current backlog and think that the job is done. We need to ensure another backlog does not grow to take its place. This will not be a quick fix.”
“A Cabinet committee with a specific focus on disability has also been created to ensure there is a whole-of-government response to issues affecting children with disabilities, whether through fixing the broken assessment of needs process, providing appropriate education supports and, crucially, access to therapy services. A dedicated unit in the Department of the Taoiseach is also being created to drive change and hold Departments and State agencies to account. Specifically around the assessment of needs process, the Minister, Deputy Foley, has been very clear about the stark nature of this challenge. There are almost 15,300 assessment of need applications overdue for completion. In 2021, the figure stood at 3,500. Over 10,600 new applications were received last year with some 4,100 completed assessments in 2024.”
“This is an emotive topic, one that affects many children and families right across the country, causing anxiety and stress for parents who are seeking the supports their children need. The State needs to communicate better. It needs to map out a pathway through services and deliver those services in a timely manner. The challenges associated with the assessment of need process and the wider system are significant and they require a proportionate response from Government. Since taking office, both the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste have consistently highlighted that disability services, in particular disability services for children, are a key priority for this Government. The priority is reflected in the fact that both the Minister, Deputy Foley, and I sit at the Cabinet table where disability matters are in sharp focus.”
“This is of particular importance for the children’s disability network teams which provide specialised community-based services for children with complex needs and that do not yet have the full staff complement they need to deliver their services. The third fundamental reform that I, my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Foley, and Government is committed to introducing is providing clarity to families and individuals on how to navigate our overly-bureaucratic health system in order to secure the services they need. That involves making sure there is no wrong door, that a child is directed to the appropriate service regardless of how they enter the system, whether through the primary care system, CDNTs, CAMHS or any other avenue.”
“This work is already under way with officials from the Department of Children, Disability and Equality working intensively with the HSE to deliver existing actions, including those set out in the roadmap for service improvement, and to develop new ones. The second fundamental issue which must be addressed is providing speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapist, psychology and other supports to everyone who needs them. That involves providing more places at third level, more work placements and upskilling. It means continuing with the recruitment drives which have helped deliver an additional 272 staff in our CDNT network last year alone. It also involves measures being put in place to retain existing staff in the system and attracting new entrants.”
“The first is tackling the long and growing waiting lists for assessments of needs. Our primary focus must be on the assessment of need process, identifying the delays and blockages which are causing the growing waiting list. We then need to find the most effective solution to these blockages. This may require legislative change, while being clear that no one will lose his or her statutory right to an assessment of need. It will likely involve operational changes, increased staffing resources, better IT systems or outsourcing to the private sector where appropriate. It will also involve ensuring nobody is asked to undergo an assessment of needs to access State services unnecessarily.”
“The challenges and problems associated with the assessment of need process and the provision of services for disabled children, adults and their families have been illustrated in stark detail in this Chamber today. It is not acceptable that vulnerable people clearly in need of State support are left wanting. It is not acceptable that families are stressed and frustrated, and despair that the State appears to have ignored their pleas for help. It is not acceptable that any person feels they must stage a public protest to draw attention to this issue. As Minister of State with responsibility for disability, I believe there are three fundamental issues which Government must address to deliver the step change in disability services as promised in the programme for Government.”
“In recognition of this, the Government has agreed an ambitious new programme of work to allow us to build on the significant progress made in the area in recent years. Moreover, the Government is committed to continued investment in this sector, in particular through additional investment in budget 2026, to achieve our combined objectives of affordable, accessible and quality early learning and childcare.”
“Planning work is under way for a new State agency to support the delivery of early learning and childcare. There is work to develop a national plan to further the development of Irish language provision in the early learning and childcare sector, which will be published later this year. There is ongoing work to review the legislative and regulatory framework for school-age childcare, to strengthen the inspection system through ensuring that Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, has the appropriate enforcement powers to deal with serious cases of non-compliance by services and through planning work to establish a single inspectorate for early learning and childcare. Early learning and childcare is a public good with benefits across society.”
“Work is under way to implement phase 2 of the National Action Plan for Childminding 2021-2028. Work is under way to implement recommendations in Partnership for the Public Good, the report of the expert group for a new funding model. Work is under way to implement Nurturing Skills, the workforce plan for the sector for the period 2021 to 2028, with commitments to develop career pathways, promote careers in the sector and support staff recruitment, complementing recent achievements and future plans to improve pay and conditions of employment in the sector. Work is also under way to finalise an action plan for administrative and regulatory simplification following detailed engagement with the sector last year and an independent review by Indecon of the end-to-end processes linked to departmental funding schemes.”
“While noting these strong indicators of progress, the Government has not shied away from the challenges that continue to persist in this sector, including high out-of-pocket costs for parents, low pay and working conditions for educators and practitioners and a lack of supply of places in certain areas and for certain cohorts. In the new programme for Government, we have set out a pathway to address these challenges. In addition to planned reforms to the funding model and increases in the levels of supply referred to by the Minister, Deputy Foley, there is a wider and ambitious reform agenda under way in the area of early learning and childcare through implementation of a range of other policies and programmes, which also deserve special mention. Work is under way to develop a new implementation plan for the First 5 strategy.”
“Core funding application data shows that between year 1 and year 3 of the scheme, capacity in the sector increased by 15%, with analysis showing that increased capacity was of the type that is in highest demand relative to supply. Data from Tusla on service closures and new service registrations showed a net increase of 226 in the overall number of services in 2024 and the lowest number of service closures in the past six years. There has also been international recognition of our efforts, with the European Commission recently endorsing the approach of Government and welcoming the substantial progress that we have made.”
“Importantly, two consecutive rounds of employment regulation orders have resulted in improved pay for an estimated 70% of those affected, and for 50% of those working in the sector. New negotiations involving the joint labour committee are at an advanced stage, with further improvements in pay expected later this year through updated employment regulation orders. These negotiations are being supported by €45 million in additional State funding that has been ring-fenced for this purpose. All of our available data point to an expanding sector. For example, data from the early years sector profile survey show that between 2022 and 2024, the estimated number of enrolments in services rose by 19%.”
“Among the achievements since then are the high participation rates in core funding among services, with 92% of providers participating in year 3 of the scheme and a higher number of providers in absolute terms when compared with previous years; a fee freeze in place in the majority of services; a 36% increase in the number of services offering the national childcare scheme; a 32% increase in the number of children supported to access that scheme to sponsorship arrangements and a 230% increase in the number of children more broadly who benefit from this scheme; extended support for graduate-led provision outside the ECCE programme; and greater stability and sustainability in the sector, with a minimum core funding allocation of €14,000 now in place. There is greater operational and financial transparency in the use of public funding.”
“I welcome this opportunity to discuss the important issue of early learning and childcare. It is clear from the discussion so far that we all recognise the importance of early learning and childcare for children and their families as well as for society and the wider economy. In her opening statement the Minister, Deputy Foley, described the constituent parts of Together for Better - the Government's funding model for early learning and childcare, which has an allocation of €1.25 billion in 2025 alone. She also summarised how this funding model has brought significant benefits to children and their families, to educators and practitioners as well as to providers since it was first introduced in September 2022.”
“The Deputy knows about the in-school therapies the Minister, Deputy McEntee, is rolling out right across the country in special schools and, eventually, in special classes in mainstream schools. Work is ongoing in a range of areas. In higher education, we have 150 extra therapists going through our third level institutions. We are also looking at therapy assistants and how we can upskill people through apprenticeships within the therapy space.”
“There is a huge priority in regard to recruitment and retention within children's disability network teams, CDNTs, right across the country. As the Deputy probably knows, there was an increase of 17% in the CDNT workforce from 2023 to 2024, which amounts to the recruitment of 272 whole-time equivalent staff. That said, we need to do much more. International and domestic recruitments processes are under way, we have bursaries for postgraduate students and we have outreach into secondary schools and higher education authorities to raise awareness of the valuable work done by people in the disability sector. My door is open if the Deputy has any ideas for increasing staffing in this area. It is an absolute top priority for me and my Government colleagues to make sure we have the therapists in place.”
“We are looking at pay and terms and conditions. That is under way as well, as the Deputy knows. We are looking at absolutely everything. There is our national disability strategy. That will not be just the Department with responsibility for disability but every single Government Department having disability in their brief. I will be publishing that strategy before the summer recess and that is going to feed into this as well. I absolutely agree with what the Deputies have said. It is an absolute priority of mine as the Minister of State with responsibility for disability sitting at the Cabinet table. My door is open for suggestions as well, if the Deputies have any.”
“In the communities with the CDNTs we want that multidisciplinary approach whereby children, if they need to get access to a dietician, physio or whatever, will have access to those therapies. My door is open if there are suggestions about recruitment. We are looking at therapy assistants-----”
“I take both Deputies' points on board and it is an absolute priority. I came from having responsibility for special education and the Minister, Deputy Foley, was Minister for Education. We are now in the Department with responsibility for disability. We have a very clear picture of the need for more therapies, access to therapies and access to assessments. That is at the forefront of the work we are doing. We have a Cabinet committee on disability. Therapy in schools was mentioned. We are going to roll out that pilot to all special schools and eventually into all special classes in mainstream schools as well. That will help with children getting access to those therapies.”
“Also, we are engaging with secondary schools and higher education institutions to expose more students to the rewarding and impactful work within CDNTs and within the disability sector overall. Seven of the disciplines required for working within the CDNTs are included on the critical skills occupations list in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment as well.”
“I agree that far more needs to be done as regards retention and recruitment within the CDNTs. That is an absolute priority for my Department. We have under the disability action plan and the progressing disability services roadmap set out measures. I will outline a few briefly. We are supporting practice education in CDNTs. We are supporting student sponsorship programmes. There is an initiative whereby four years' salary is now paid to new graduates over five years to support them in taking a gap year in year 5. We are also developing apprenticeship programmes. The HSE is driving a number of initiatives to address the CDNT vacancy rate. That includes intensive recruitment efforts across the HSE and section 38 and section 39 organisations.”
“Also, under the disability action plan, we have the progressing disability services roadmap, and that sets out measures designed to attract and retain staff in CDNTs. I can outline those later.”
“The HSE is using the data from that report to support focused recruitment and retention initiatives in the areas with the highest vacancy rates, taking learning and related actions from areas with lower levels of vacancies. While the vacancy rate remains high, the CDNT workforce increased by 17% in 2024 when compared with 2023 and the CDNT vacancy rate reduced from 29% to 22%. As the Deputy knows, in budget 2025, my Department secured €2.84 million in new development measure funding to provide an additional 40 health and social care professionals, comprising 20 senior and 20 staff grade therapists, 20 therapy assistants and 15 clinical psychology trainee placements. A dedicated disability workforce strategy will be developed this year to meet growing service demands and address recruitment and retention challenges.”
“As I stated to Deputy Ó Murchú, the CDNTs workforce survey was conducted last October. That captured staffing levels across various disciplines and grades, providing a snapshot of the current workforce across the 93 teams. The 2024 CDNT workforce report is based on the outputs of the survey. The published report shows that all six regional health areas were carrying vacancies at mid-October. There is a wide disparity in vacancy levels across the country, with the highest levels in Dublin and the south-east region and the lowest levels in the mid-west region. Separately, the HSE has advised me that the majority of CDNTs are currently carrying vacancies, with four teams having no vacancies at present.”
“Looking at other things, in respect of higher education, as I said, an extra 150 therapists have been going through our third level system since last September. We are also looking at outreach to secondary schools and other ways we can upskill people from other disciplines.”
“I will start with the last part of the question. We are working on a national disability strategy, which will be published before the summer recess. A high level of engagement is happening right across Government with my Cabinet colleagues, including the Minister, Deputy Foley, the Minister for Education, the Minister for Health, the Minister for Social Protection and the Minister for Transport. When talking about disability, it affects every single Department and the ambition will be high within that strategy. I want to say that at the outset. Recruitment and retention is only part of it. The Deputy talked about therapists in schools, having them in our special schools and rolling that out to special classes in mainstream schools as part of the solution. We will also need to up recruitment at a domestic level.”
“That serves to improve the recruitment of health and social care professionals into the CDNT teams. In addition, the HSE career hub has more than 38 registered applicants.”
“Significantly, the CDNT vacancy rate has reduced from 29% in 2023 to 22% in 2024, a reduction of 7% nationally. The Deputy is correct regarding recruitment and retention. A lot of work is happening in that space. In order to achieve the staffing level improvements seen in 2024 and fill those vacancies, there were intensive domestic and international recruitment efforts across the HSE and section 38 and 39 organisations to recruit and onboard staff. Recruitment efforts are being bolstered by optimising access to applicant pools through the opening up of HSE panels, HSE advertising streams and candidate pools, and also training places in higher education institutes, which have increased the number of clinical placements in children’s disability network teams.”
“The October data indicates that the CDNT workforce increased by 17% in 2024 when compared with the 2023 figure. This represents an additional 272 whole-time equivalent staff working across CDNTs. Within those on-boarded, the largest growth was in health and social care professionals, accounting for 204 of the 272 staff.”
“The number of vacancies in the Dublin and north east region, which was 125 whole-time equivalents, and the Dublin and midlands region, which was 112 whole-time equivalents, is also high. There were 65 unfilled WTEs in the south west region, 56 in the west and north west region and 26 in the mid-west region as of mid-October. The HSE is currently using the data from this report to support focused recruitment and retention initiatives in the areas with the highest vacancy rates, taking learning and related actions from areas with lower levels of vacancies. The HSE has also advised that a survey for another CDNT workforce report is being undertaken and it expects the data to be available for that in the coming months. It is important to acknowledge the progress that has been made in recent years regarding CDNT recruitment.”