Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Does the Taoiseach get it? Does he get what it is like for parents and children who are waiting on those lists? The Taoiseach spoke about standard operating procedures and new rules for the disabilities assessment. Does he actually get what it is like to be on a waiting on a list for over a year, 7,000 of them for an initial occupational therapy, OT, assessment? Does he get what it is like to be one of the 15,000 children waiting for a first assessment for speech and language therapy? Early intervention is crucial and key to getting a positive pathway in this regard. The Taoiseach speaks of standard operating procedures and technical matters. He does not get what it is like for parents and children in this situation.

The Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities, who is known for leaking from Cabinet meetings, is the captain of the disability ship in this country and he is not delivering. As long as he remains captain of that ship, that ship is the Titanic. It is time that the Taoiseach took charge and gave some hope to the the 37,000 children waiting for speech and language therapy and to the 31,000 waiting for occupation therapy, OT. He needs to stop talking about standard operating procedures and to start talking about people.

See this speech in context