{"podcast":{"title":"In The News","slug":"in-the-news-4008521","podcast_index_feed_id":4008521,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/b2fb5f0b-0ce7-4e5c-b6e0-9b1febd06aea","website_url":"https://www.irishtimes.com","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61409400444fd9068ff27e5f/1767177794884-20c1be6d-99c9-4c2a-8d6b-ad074c095fb1.jpeg","author":"dconlon@irishtimes.com","episode_count":1141,"summary":"In The News is a daily podcast from The Irish Times that takes a close look at the stories that matter, in Ireland and around the world. Presented by Bernice Harrison and Sorcha Pollak. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-20T06:17:33.044517+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/in-the-news-4008521"},"episode":{"title":"Why Ireland is introducing a new system to diagnose autism","slug":"why-ireland-is-introducing-a-new-system-to-diagnose-autism","published_at":"2026-06-04T02:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/in-the-news-4008521/why-ireland-is-introducing-a-new-system-to-diagnose-autism","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/in-the-news-4008521","url":"https://shows.acast.com/in-the-news/episodes/why-ireland-is-introducing-a-new-system-to-diagnose-autism","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/acast/s/in-the-news/e/6a2059a1f8e85cfadade5267/media.mp3","summary":"An assessment of need (AON) helps put children with a disability on a service pathway. But the waiting list is long and growing every year. It currently stands at 21,782 which means some children will wait years for diagnosis. To speed up the process and deal with the stubbornly long waiting list, the government has announced details of a new “autism assessment and intervention pathway protocol”. How will the new protocol work? Who will conduct the assessments? Several stakeholders say no, but who are they and what are their issues with a plan intended to shorten waiting lists? Social affairs correspondent Kitty Holland explains the new protocol, and the growing backlash against it. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Andrew McNair and Suzanne Brennan.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"An assessment of need (AON) helps put children with a disability on a service pathway. But the waiting list is long and growing every year. It currently s…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":884,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/in-the-news-4008521/episodes/why-ireland-is-introducing-a-new-system-to-diagnose-autism/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/in-the-news-4008521/why-ireland-is-introducing-a-new-system-to-diagnose-autism.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}