Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Thomas Byrne for tabling this very important motion on NEPS psychologists. As we have seen this evening, the assessment-of-need process is completely failing thousands of children who need the appropriate diagnosis and intervention and their educational needs are not being met as a result. Both Ministers can quote figures for budgetary allocations, but the reality is that children are not getting what they require. The Ministers have the executive function to change the current system, address the recruitment problems and manage the budgetary allocations properly and prudently in order that we give children the intervention they desperately require. Quoting statistics means nothing to all of the children with no diagnosis and for whom there is no intervention. They mean nothing to the parents and children who face a desperate situation every day. I do not doubt the Ministers' sincerity, but it is important that they stop giving us the Civil Service speak, the statistics and the nonsense. They need to cut to the chase and address what are serious matters.

From international research, we know that early intervention is the only mechanism to give people a chance of achieving educational attainment. This is only a diagnostic process in seeking occupational, speech and language therapy and dealing with all of the other issues we have with the HSE. This is simply about ratifying people's current diagnosis in order that they can access the educational wraparound services and health intervention required. That is not happening in the current system.

It is all very well to laud the additional spending - nearly €15 billion is being spent on health care services this year. However, people are on waiting lists and dying because they do not have a diagnosis. The same is happening in education. It is possible to spend more, but what does that give parents when their child is not getting an opportunity? We recently held a referendum to enshrine children's rights in the Constitution, which was a very positive development. However, the Minister should not stand over a situation where thousands of children are not being given the chance to uphold their educational rights. It is important to move away from bland statistics and look at the future educational attainment of children.

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