Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday, RTÉ aired a piece that can only be described as shocking about the provision of assessments of need for children with a disability.

Figures released by the HSE show that there are 3,850 children across the State with a disability or suspected disability who are overdue an assessment of needs. Children with signs of autism make up a large part of this number. The Tánaiste knows that under the Disability Act 2005, any child suspected of having a disability is eligible to apply for an assessment of needs to identify his or her health requirements. He will also know that such an assessment is legally required to be completed within six months of the making of the application. However, nearly 4,000 children are being denied this right. They are being failed by the health service and the Government. The parents of children who find themselves in this situation are at their wits' end. They are desperate to find out why their children are displaying such symptoms and for a diagnosis in order that their children can access the services they need.

They are not the only children who are being failed by the health service. Others are also being treated disgracefully. I want to talk to the Tánaiste about Sophia McGuinness. Sophia is 12 years old. She has scoliosis and cerebral palsy and been waiting for surgery for almost a year and a half. On Tuesday her father, Aaron Daly, delivered a letter to the Tánaiste in which he outlined Sophia's case, in addition to the plight of another 188 children in need of spinal surgery. Sophia is one of more than 50 children who do not feature on the scoliosis waiting list because they have had their surgery suspended. Her father says the waiting lists are an exercise in manipulation. My colleague, Teachta Louise O'Reilly, recently met Sophia. It was heartbreaking. Sophia cannot speak, but she can communicate with her eyes using assistive technology. The first thing she said to Teachta Louise O'Reilly when she went to visit her in her home was "I am in pain." Children like Sophia are living in agony and their parents are exhausted from battling the system. They are worn out from fighting for their children's needs day in and day out. It is a battle they should not have to fight. No father should have to come to Leinster House to look for a meeting with the Minister. We all watched in horror last year when RTÉ aired its programme "Living on the List". It gave us an insight into the struggles faced by these children and their families on a daily basis. In the aftermath of that programme the Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, offered an apology and made promises. Those promises have been broken again and again.

When is the Tánaiste going to do right by Sophia and the other 188 children who are waiting for spinal surgery? When will he do right by the 3,850 children who have a disability or suspected disability and are legally entitled to an assessment of needs but who are being failed by the State? Will he ensure Sophia's father who travelled to Leinster House on Tuesday to meet the Minister will have that meeting? Will he ensure the Minister will meets her father and listen to the agony, pain, trauma and upset the family have had to go through? The same is experienced by many other families in the State.

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