Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister's comments but it is unacceptable that almost 300 people are waiting for speech and language therapy in Louth whereas the adjoining county, Meath, has fewer than 30 people waiting after assessment. When the allocation of posts was taking place, six went to Meath and three to Louth. I agree there must be enough therapists for everybody but this discrimination against County Louth is absolutely unacceptable and unforgivable, particularly in light of the fact that 400 adults with intellectual disability have no service whatsoever. There is no waiting list and no therapist in County Louth, yet the adjoining county of Meath has a waiting list of five.

The other point I want to make is on the workload of speech and language therapists in County Louth. It is recommended in primary care for people aged under 18 that there should not be more than 100 people per whole-time equivalent therapist. In Louth the figure is 180 so the caseload is approaching double the maximum it should be. If one looks at the adult network figure, the recommendation is 38 to one but the actual figure is 93 to one. For disability services, the ratio is 50:1 in both the under-six and six to 18 age groups whereas it should not be greater than 38:1.

There is a huge challenge here. I rely on the Minister of State's interest to address this matter urgently. We cannot continue to deny fundamental rights to access to services for everybody but specifically in County Louth, which is being discriminated against. In that discrimination, the greatest discrimination is visited upon the 400 adults with disability who are on the waiting list in County Louth. They have no services and I hope it ends now.

See this speech in context