Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick East, Fine Gael)

I will stick with the facts which speak for themselves. Only 50% of schools have a service in place. In my constituency which includes the city of Limerick two thirds of primary schools do not have a service. The figure for post-primary schools is 56%. The number of students without a service is almost three quarters in primary and 61% in post-primary schools. That is an indictment of the system. The available resources do not match the need. For every 50 students there is one assessment, which gives a figure of 2%. Under the scheme for private assessment, the same criteria apply, yet one in five children have special educational needs. The Minister's colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Haughey, said children did not need it, but some 20% of children have special educational needs. That is a fact.

There is a major anomaly. If the schools which have a service in place exceed their quota, they cannot access the Department's scheme; instead students have to pay for an assessment privately. Shame on the Minister. These are the students who need it most and the Minister should provide the necessary funding. Only 134 out of 200 posts which the Minister's predecessor, Deputy Martin, said would be in place by 2004 will be in place. The Minister talks about having the entire 200 in place ten years after the announcement was made. That is unacceptable.

In the mid-west only eight of the 16 psychologists are in place, that is, a figure of 50%. The Minister said 31 would be in place by the end of the year, yet another broken promise. At most 16 will be in place.

In the budget the Government will provide for a reduction of 6%. I hope that when the Minister goes back to the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, she will fight her case for the students she represents. She should not accept a reduction of 6%; rather she should seek an increase. She needs to deal with this issue but is accepting a cutback from the Minister for Finance. She needs to fight the case of the students who need the service most and honour that commitment.

Many children who are assessed by the NEPS and private assessors need a psychiatric assessment under the HSE. I know of a child in Limerick who will be seen in the next day or two but who has been waiting two years. That is unacceptable. The Minister needs to provide the necessary resources.

The Government's amendment to the motion does not stand up to scrutiny. It refers to all schools as having access to psychological assessments. They do not — only 50% have access to such assessments. There is a quota system in place under which only 2% of students will qualify. If the schools with a service in place exceed their quota, they cannot access the private assessment scheme which the Minister put in place for students. Instead parents who can ill afford it will have to pay privately or organisations such as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul will have to provide assistance.

The Government has great capacity to speak about voluntarism and funding. This matter should have been dealt with during the past eight or nine years when the Celtic tiger economy was booming. We should not be debating this issue tonight. The Government is pushing out the timeframe by five years to 2009.

Speech and language therapy services are a disgrace. In Limerick people have to wait six months to one year to avail of such a service. If they cannot be seen, they have to have an assessment made privately. If they are seen, the resources are not in place to deal with the issues identified. The Minister needs to go back to the Minister for Finance tomorrow to demand that the resources be put in place.

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