Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We are all aware that there are major problems with the current allocation model for resource teaching hours.

Many parents and teachers throughout my constituency of Roscommon-Galway have raised the issue with me. Yesterday I was contacted by a young teacher from Roscommon town who pointed to the considerable uncertainty about the new arrangements for the new NCSE model for meeting special educational needs in schools. Parents have been left in the dark and do not know if their children will have learning support and resource teaching hours. Teachers are unsure if they will have jobs next September. School principals do not know what their staff allocation will be next year.

As my colleagues pointed out, a number of people looking for assessments for their children have gone to private sources and some have paid between €450 and €1,000 for the service. That, in itself, is totally wrong. I understand from where the Government is coming. I have no doubt about the sincerity of the Minister, Deputy Richard Bruton, and the Minister of State, Deputy Helen McEntee.

In County Roscommon a total of 132 children are waiting for an assessment by a child psychologist and some children have been waiting more than one year for the appointment. The reply to a parliamentary question tabled by Deputy Thomas Byrne showed a huge increase since 2015 in the number of children on a waiting list to see a child psychologist in the county. A total of 58 children were on the waiting list in 2015. That figure rose to 126 in 2016 and this month a total of 132 children are on the waiting list, a staggering increase of 127% since 2015 in a county with a population of 64,000. This is totally unacceptable and the situation seems to have deteriorated since last summer when a child psychologist in County Roscommon was on sick leave. The post has been vacant since, resulting in 132 children from County Roscommon being on the waiting list and unable to access child psychological services.

I am dealing with a boy from County Roscommon who was referred by his GP to the psychological services, but after several weeks his parents finally received a return call informing them that the psychologist looking after school-age children had been on sick leave since March 2016 and that a locum could not be found for the post. Officials could not indicate when the service would become available again, but they indicated that no children had been assessed since March 2016 and that the waiting list would be significant. I have more to say, but I have to share time.

County Roscommon is a very special case. Apart from those 132 children, 39 Syrian children are coming to Ballaghaderreen and the Government has informed us that it will have every service in place. In a small county that will bring the number to almost 200 children who cannot get a service. I plead with the Minister to approach the Minister for Health to sort out this issue as a matter of urgency.

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