Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for being here today and having this discussion. I understand that she is relatively new in the role but it is great to hear her determination to get this right for children. I imagine that in her previous role as a party spokesperson for children and as a Deputy, she has had an awful lot of interactions with parents and children on this issue, as have we all in our offices. I am sure the Minister of State has a thorough understanding of the difficulties that are faced by parents in not only trying to get the assessment but thereafter trying to get the services.

The Minister of State has, unfortunately, inherited a broken system. She says that steps must be taken and the ombudsman has said the same and we all agree with that. However, it would appear from what we have heard and the information we have received over the past number of meetings, the path that she is going down is completely the wrong one. I am not sure if the Minister of State had an opportunity to listen to last week's committee meeting or to review the transcript. A representative from the Psychological Society of Ireland, Mr. Mark Smyth, was before the committee. He also was representing the Association of Occupational Therapists of Ireland and the Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists. Mr. Gareth Noble, family courts lawyer, and parents from Enough is Enough were also before the committee. Each and every one of them spoke about how the current system is failing children and their families. I will read out some of the discussion with Mr. Mark Smyth about the new procedure that is being implemented to try to address the problems with the assessment of needs process. He said "The implementation of the new [standard operating procedure, SOP] has proceeded despite our professional bodies clearly stating that it is not in the best interests of children" and that it "will, in many cases, prove detrimental to children and their families". He noted the clinicians are also "concerned that compliance with the SOP could lead to them being in breach of codes of conduct and ethics". He also said that in the majority of cases, it will not be possible for a clinician to answer the questions or to feed back to parents "within the maximum timeframe permitted within the SOP of 90 minutes" or to come to a determination as to whether the child has a disability. Those are stark statements for someone representing the Psychological Association of Ireland and the other groups to make.

What is the response or feedback of the Minister of State to those statements made last week about the SOP? It is clear that it was always envisaged that this SOP was going to be difficult. The previous committee directed the HSE to consult with these groups but it did not do so and we are now seeing the result of that, which is a system being established that is not going to meet the needs of parents or children and will cause difficulty for clinicians. I will cut to the chase. Will the Minister of State agree to suspend the roll-out of this new operating procedure until the consultation can happen with the clinicians and parents to ensure that procedures that are being put in place will actually do what they need to for children and not further disadvantage them or stick them onto another waiting list to languish for another three or four years?