Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

This debate is astonishing in that when we examine the Government amendment and hear what many Government Deputies say, there is no recognition or admission of a problem. This is a major issue around the country. The frustration and anger of parents and principals trying to access services for children and students has reached an extraordinary level. People have totally lost faith in the State's competency to provide a service it is obliged to provide.

We are talking about the most vulnerable people in the country, children of two, three, four or five years of age with special needs who need either a HSE or NEPS service. We have 185,000 school age children with disabilities or special educational needs. We have 134 psychologists in NEPS to deal with these, as well as a scheme whereby private psychologists can be brought in to make assessments. Less than 50% of schools have access to a proper NEPS scheme. For those who do not, it is misleading for the Government to suggest in this debate that they get the same service through the scheme for commissioning private assessments. The private assessment is merely an assessment while the NEPS assessment is supposed to put a structured educational programme in place for children who need it.

As my colleagues have said, this is about early intervention and assessment so that families can work with their children and teachers to maximise their children's potential. A missed year here or there because of a waiting list can have a dramatic impact on a child's ability to catch up later. This is what causes the frustration suffered by parents.

I do not want to let this debate pass without referring to speech and language therapy, as well as the need for improved psychological assessment services. In May this year, Deputy David Stanton submitted a parliamentary question to establish how long children in schools in the Cork area must wait for psychological assessments. The response he received informed him the wait was two years. We also received information in May that 658 children were waiting for speech and language therapy assessment in Cork, while some 4,312 were waiting for speech and language therapy services.

Government spokespersons have been bragging about what the Government has achieved in terms of special needs assistants, as if we do not have a problem in terms of psychological assessments. I see the Minister making a dismissive comment to her colleague, as if to say: "What is he talking about? This has nothing to do with psychological assessments in schools." This motion is about children and the provision of services for them.

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