Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I think we have a problem because waiting times are so long that they contravene the Disability Act 2005. Essentially, this means children are waiting for services for more than six months. The State is breaking its own law. This has serious implications for the State and for the children who are not being seen. There is a possibility that families will bring the State to court because their children are not being seen on time. The statistics are quite incredible. Many children have been waiting for these services for up to 18 months. Approximately 2,000 children under the age of five are waiting for occupational therapy services. Some 20,000 children are waiting to see speech and language therapists. According to Inclusion Ireland, the speech and language services one receives are greatly influenced by where one lives. There are 162 children for every therapist in Ireland at the moment. It is recommended that there should be a therapist for every 30 to 65 children.

Major questions arise when children and their families get assessments of need, but the bigger question is the waiting time for occupational therapy services, physiotherapy and speech and language therapy. In this day and age, nobody should be waiting more than six months, but that is happening in Dublin Mid-West and across the country. There are huge waiting times of over 18 months in Cork, for example. It is not acceptable, especially in a year when we are marking the 100th anniversary of 1916. The Proclamation refers to "cherishing all the children of the nation", but at this moment in time the State is not cherishing its children. It is actually failing them. That has serious and profound consequences for families and for the State. I have to say it is a shame that this country cannot provide crucial early intervention services to children in their time of need.

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