Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Senator Flynn. As she said, I always feel that if a family is affected, it is only then they see how they react and how the system is failing. I see many challenges within the system. There is no joined-up thinking. Senator McGreehan spoke about sensory rooms. I will give examples of this. I cannot get my head around these things. We are dealing with the best people in the country but sometimes I wonder where common sense prevails.

I worked with two or three cases of children with disabilities in the area where I live. We wanted a sensory room. In fairness to Carlow County Council, the only way people can get a sensory room is through the local authority, but most local authorities do not have an occupational therapist to assess a child. First, and it makes my blood boil, people go to their local authority - I am not complaining about Carlow, which has its occupational therapist and, as the Cathaoirleach will say, I will say "Carlow" a hundred times - which cannot assess the child. The family then has to pay privately to get the child assessed. The first thing all the Departments and agencies should be doing together is talking to the local authority and setting up some sort of common sense approach whereby a child with a disability who needs a sensory room can be assessed. A child cannot be assessed unless a family pays. I know of families who had to borrow money to pay privately. That is unacceptable. In fairness to the councils, they have done some assessments but many more rooms need to be done. I ask now that the first port of call be local authorities for children who are lucky to be assessed.

My voice is gone too. Like Ms Duggan I am doing too much talking. There are 1,496 kids on the long-term waiting list for therapies in Carlow and the south east. The demand for these occupational and speech and language therapists is frightening. We have two CDNTs in Carlow that I am sure the witnesses are aware of, namely, Shamrock Plaza and Bethany House. There is no-one in Bethany House, or just one person. We now have a CDNT facility that has no staff and everyone wants to go to Shamrock Plaza because it has more staff, but there is such a shortage. There are children looking to go into primary school who are not being assessed. All the representatives have spoken about the money but the first thing they will say is "early intervention".

I feel that we are neglected in Carlow. There is an issue with CHO 5 when it comes to staffing. I am not blaming staff by the way. I am not here to criticise anyone but the problem is that people have lost faith in the system. Families come to me and some of them are so upset. One particular child is in a very bad way. She has not had speech and language therapy for years. Another child is waiting for a chair. Another is waiting to get into a school but because she has not been assessed the school does not now know whether it can take her. There are huge issues and we have to face them. I am not saying this lightly. I am angry and tormented for families who come to me who are not getting the services. It can be imagined how bad I would be if I had my voice. I will ask all the witnesses this. As I said, I know it is challenging and that they are doing their best, but they need to sort out those children who are not being assessed. They need to get staff. We need to do something because we are at a crisis point.

I will go to Tusla and Ms Duggan. Yesterday, I was a little taken aback when I saw that Children at Risk in Ireland, CARI, is the only national agency supporting child victims of sexual abuse and their families. It is estimated it costs €1.1 million to run the service each year but Tusla has confirmed the budget for 2024 is capped by nearly €340,000. That is a funding drop of 55%. I know Tusla has looked at this. I do not even question that, but is there a reason for this drop?

These services are so important.

I will give another example, but I am nearly finished. Many of the officials know Carlow very well. Mr. O'Regan and Ms Duggan do. We got Holy Angels Day Care Centre into the capital plan. It is a facility for children with disabilities. It operates out of prefabs. For 40 years we have had children with profound disabilities in prefabs. I have been on the board for the last five years. I think there is a bit of a hold-up in the capital plan. The CDNT is meant to go with Holy Angels, but the centre cannot stay in the prefabs any longer. When we come to emergency cases like this, what is the plan to have children in a proper facility in 2023, going into 2024?

I could stay here talking to the officials all day. I could give them 100 cases. The officials are the people who can change lives; they can change families' lives and change children's lives. I ask them to work together so we can make those changes. They can only be small. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, was looking at those who go private to get occupational therapy services. The Cathaoirleach would be aware of that as a means of getting children assessed. I think the Minister of State did a pilot scheme on it. We need to get that to Carlow and we need to get other interventions. The officials have had a lot of questions. I had a lot more, by the way; I must have another 20. The officials may have answered enough of them, so they may come back to me. I will come back to them on all these questions. I will keep ringing them for meetings and I will keep giving them the cases. I thank the Cathaoirleach.