Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputies Barry Cowen and Carol Nolan for raising this issue and I welcome Deputy Carol Nolan to the Dáil as a first time Member of the Oireachtas.

I will begin by assuring the Deputies that this partnership Government is committed to the provision and development of services for children with special needs and to improving access for these children to therapy services. The current programme for Government commits the Government to improving services and increasing supports for people with disabilities, particularly early assessment and intervention for children with special needs. This is an issue I pushed for during talks regarding the programme for Government. While significant resources have been invested by the health sector in services for children with disabilities over the past number of years, I am acutely aware of the large body of work that needs to be done to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities and I am in agreement with the two Deputies on that.

As the Deputies will be aware, health-related therapy supports and interventions for children can be accessed through both the HSE's primary care services and its disability services, depending on the level of need. In 2013, additional funding of €20 million was allocated to strengthen primary care services and to support the recruitment of more than 260 prioritised front-line primary care posts. In terms of primary care services nationally, the HSE is currently finalising its proposals to improve access to primary care speech and language therapy services and to addressing the waiting lists for assessment and therapy treatment. Some €4 million has been provided in the HSE's service plan to address this issue and details of the proposals will be announced shortly.

The HSE has also recognised that early intervention services and services for school aged children with disabilities need to be standardised. To this end a major reconfiguration of therapy resources for children with disabilities aged up to 18 years is currently under way. The HSE's national programme on progressing disability services for children and young people from birth to 18 years aims to bring about equity of access to disability services and consistency of service delivery, with a clear pathway for children with disabilities and their families to services, regardless of where they live, what school the child attends or the nature of the individual child's difficulties.

There is also a greater emphasis than heretofore on the health and education sectors working more closely together in terms of supporting children with special needs to achieve their potential. Implementation of the programme is taking place on a phased basis in consultation with stakeholders, including service users and their families. It is a key priority for the executive's social care directorate for 2016. Since 2014, the roll-out of the progressing disability services for children and young people programme has entailed targeted investment of €14 million and the provision of 275 additional therapy staff to increase services for all children with disabilities. This level of investment underlines the Government's ongoing commitment to the development of therapy services, including early intervention services.

Reconfiguration of disability services in line with the programme is already under way in the HSE midlands, with Laois-Offaly receiving a total of 27 new therapy posts since 2014. It is acknowledged that waiting times to access required therapy interventions are unacceptably high in some areas, including Laois-Offaly. I accept the points made by the Deputies in regard to the major problems there. Access to these therapy services is not always equitable, with children in some areas facing longer waiting times than in other areas, where services are better resourced and more streamlined. However, the HSE midlands is committed to reducing waiting times for assessment and treatment.

I am confident and hopeful that the additional resources being invested into both primary and disability services will have a positive impact on the provision of clinical services to all children with disabilities, including autism, and to those who may currently be on waiting lists to access therapy inputs not just in Laois-Offaly but across the country.

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