Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this extremely important issue. The Minister of State with responsibility for this area, Deputy Finian McGrath, sends his apologies. I am pleased to take this opportunity to update Deputy Kenny and the House on the progress that is being made in developing services for children with disabilities and on the current position regarding waiting times for assessments of need.

As the Deputy has pointed out, waiting times are far too long in some instances. The HSE recognises that early intervention services and services for school-age children with disabilities need to be improved and organised more effectively. To this end, a major reconfiguration of therapy resources for children with disabilities up to the age of 18 is under way. This national programme, Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People, involves bringing staff from different service providers together into network teams. The aim of the programme is to bring about equity of access to disability services and consistency of service delivery. It provides for a clear pathway for children with disabilities and their families to services regardless of where they live, what school they attend or the nature of their difficulties. It places a stronger emphasis on the health and education sectors working more closely together to support children with special needs to achieve their potential. The 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 in the HSE's service plan. It is estimated that by the end of the year, 76 of the 129 teams will be reconfigured. Under the Disability Act 2005, a child can request an assessment of need. Since the Act commenced, the number of requests for assessments appears to vary across the country. The level of requests is higher in areas where the reconfiguration of children's disability services has yet to take place. This would suggest that where a good service is being provided, the need for assessments is reduced.

The HSE recognises that it faces significant challenges in meeting the statutory timeframes that apply to the assessment of need process. It is aware that there is a significant backlog in carrying out assessments of need in Deputy Kenny's constituency of Dublin Mid-West. This is due to a number of vacancies in key roles. I am pleased to report that the recruitment process to fill these posts has been completed and successful candidates will take up these roles in the coming weeks.

The current programme for Government commits the Government to improving services and increasing supports for people with disabilities, particularly for early assessment and intervention for children with special needs. Significant resources have been invested by the health sector in services for children with disabilities over recent years. As the Deputy will be aware, health-related therapy supports and interventions for children are provided through the HSE's primary care services and its specialist disability services, depending on the level of the child's need.

In 2013, additional funding of €20 million was allocated to strengthen primary care services and support the recruitment of over 260 prioritised front-line primary care posts, including 52 occupational therapists and 52 speech and language therapists. In 2016, funding of €4 million was provided under the HSE's national service plan to focus specifically on speech and language therapy waiting lists in primary care services and social care for children up to the age of 18. This investment represents a long-term increase in speech and language capacity that will be maintained into next year. Arising from budget 2017, the HSE is looking at how extra funds provided for disability services will be allocated. In particular, it will be asked to build on previous investments in therapeutic supports. My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, will outline in greater detail how that money will be spent in line with the service plan after that plan has been approved.

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