Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

With respect, that is the theory. The practice, unfortunately, is different. I understand that Ministers will be told by their senior civil servants that everything is grand, but the fact is that we are being told by people on the ground that it is not grand. I will give an example of the theory and the practice colliding. A principal sent me a letter they received from the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS. In that letter, NEPS congratulates them and says it continues to recruit, in this case, additional psychologists and hopes to assign a psychologist to the school at the earliest opportunity. NEPS states by way of reminder that if the school needs to access the service for an urgent reason, it will be provided. Then we receive further information in an email to the effect that NEPS is experiencing staff shortages and the NCSE is operating on a prioritised work schedule. The principal is asked to send an email, etc. Alternatively, they can get in contact by phone. In other words, the service is there. When you want to access it, however, it is not. We know that the majority of children and adolescents in Ireland with autism, for example, have stated that they have not received in the past year the services they need. Over 74% said that one more service that was promised to them in the past 12 months has not been given to them.

I understand that the Minister of State is doing her best to try to improve the service and that she is being told by her Department that the service is running fine. The reality is, however, that a significant number of schools across the country are having these services taken away. This is having an enormous impact on those children. When they go to appeal the reduction in service, it is so onerous that it is nearly a full-time job to apply. I know from my experience that Departments can be inordinately bureaucratic in respect of these issues. Schools say they do not need diagnoses in respect of the children, but then they are told they need proof that the child needs the service, so the Department is saying two different things to schools at the same time.

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