Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Every parent wants the very best for their child. If one has a child with particular needs, or needs that are different from those of other children, there is always a fear the needs of the child will not be met into the future. That is a normal feeling, something one must accept and realise happens.

On the mapping, the implementation groups and whether the mapping should be in place, I reiterate what I said at that meeting, namely, both can run in tandem. There is no need to hold one up while waiting on the other. Mapping is vitally important, as I have always maintained.

I refer to the Progressing Disability document, which is part of a suite of measures we are taking in the area of disability. It is a very good document that outlines delivery of a service in the community. I understand that people in specialist schools have a difficulty with that taking place. I realise they are happy with the service they have and do not want to lose it so this reaction is very understandable. The difficulties I heard about on that day were in terms of where children must go in order to receive the service, and the type of environment they will face. It should be possible to sort out all these things - they are not impossible tasks but entirely solvable issues.

However, there are swathes of children in the community going to mainstream schools who do not have access to any services. I am not one who says we should run madly ahead with the project or that it is cost-neutral. Nothing is cost-neutral. Even moving something to a new location is not so because one has to look at the location and see what is needed. We must try to ensure that every child has access to a service. The mapping should tell us where the gaps are, which is key to the whole issue. If we find there are gaps in the area of speech therapy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, psychology and all those things, it will then be my job, or that of whoever stands in this position next time around, to ensure the resources are put in place to fill those gaps. That is what we did in mental health and what we are about to do in the area of older people and old age psychiatry. It is what we need to do.

Above all else, we must ensure every child has access to a service. This is not an overnight project; it will take at least three years. I heard the parents talking about their fears that day and these are genuine fears. Nobody wants other than the very best for their children. I would say to those people they need to be part of the process, if they want to have any influence. That is not to say everything will be agreed. This will not happen, it never does. However, mapping and finding the gaps in the service is vitally important. That is what we did in the area of mental health and we need to do it here too. We cannot continue to allow the resource that is in place to go unused. It is not enough, but the resource I mean is the allied professionals I just named. I do not say this in a negative or disingenuous way. We cannot allow all those people to remain within institutions and only delivering service in those institutions. We must have a more holistic approach and must ensure that children who have a difficulty about going into particular areas are accommodated. I very clearly heard the woman the Deputy mentioned.

This is a solvable problem, however, and we need to look at solutions. This is about delivering a better service to more children, and also to those many young adults who are still receiving the service. That would be the aim but it is not an overnight project and will take time. I urge people to become engaged with the process.

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