Michael Lowry (Tipperary North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her response, however inadequate it may be. At our meeting in Scoil Aonghusa last Monday night, we heard heartfelt appeals for help. Parents and teachers spoke with sincerity, emotion and passion about the consequences for children denied access to therapy services. The parents, who make enormous sacrifices to take care of their special children, are upset, disillusioned and bewildered by the lack of response to their needs. The dedicated and committed teachers who were present at the meeting are frustrated over the lost opportunity to enhance the children's ability arising from the lack of support and assistance from therapy specialists. As far as I am concerned, the necessary structures and systems are in place within the schools. There is no point in removing the children and moving them to centralised locations for the delivery of these services. What we should have is a multidisciplinary team comprising speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and psychologists. This needs to be formed and directly linked to the school.

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