Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I also pass on my sympathies to the family of the late Michael D'Arcy.

I will raise another issue that affects a significant number of parents of children with additional needs, which is the issue of getting a routine dental appointment. The reality is that a considerable number of parents cannot get a dental appointment because there are not dentists within the HSE system who are trained to see young children. I recently heard from the parent of a nine-year-old child with autism and sensory processing disorder. The child needed a dental visit. The parent contacted the HSE but nothing was available through the school system, which is there to check all children. The parent had to go the private route and paid over €3,500 to have extractions and crowns done.

This House has regularly debated the significantly increased cost for families of children with disabilities, between the loss of wages and having to pay for other treatments privately, including speech and language therapy and occupational therapy. This is an area that has never been highlighted before but I am doing so now. It is important for the HSE to train people who specialise in working with kids with needs to allow parents to access the system. That is what I am calling for. We will be debating the disability Bill later today. This is a matter I would like brought to the notice of the Minister for Health. We must go out, identify people and train them specifically in this area to alleviate the issue for parents. The one parent to whom I spoke spent €3,500 because treatment under the public system was not available. That is not acceptable. Parents are already paying for other private treatments and this is another treatment that we, as a State, are not able to provide.