Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

These services are not available, however, in the way they should be. In his capacity as Taoiseach and knowing that this problem exists, why can he not issue a direction that cross-departmental influence should be brought to bear and that there should be one umbrella organisation under the auspices of the Department of Education and Science to deal with this? All these professionals are contracted to the HSE and are working in schools whereas the children have a problem that is intellectual and educational, not medical. Many of the services are funded across a range of organisations so there is no co-ordination or cohesion and no service is being delivered. I would like to hear the Taoiseach repeat that he recognises the scale of this problem because the status of what is in the programme for Government is either just another noble aspiration, as the previous Minister for Education and Science said, or another broken promise.

I cannot overstate or describe strongly enough the depth of frustration, concern, anxiety and, indeed, anger that is out there among the parents of children — 4,000 in Dublin alone, a figure that has doubled in the past three years, for whom there is no delivery of service for their children when it is clear a problem exists. I repeat that this is condemnation to a lifetime of underperformance, self-consciousness, speech impediment and under delivery. We can stop it now if the Taoiseach provides one service deliverer, one umbrella organisation, and sees to it that the professionals, who are being trained by the taxpayer, are allowed to do the job and provide early intervention. What is the status of the programme for Government commitment that children will have automatic access under the National Treatment Purchase Fund when it is clear we are going in the opposite direction?

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