Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Ferris for raising the issue of waiting lists for children with special needs and I commend him on his work in the Kerry area because it is something in which he has been very involved and he has been very supportive of progressing services for all children with disabilities.

The Government and I recognise that the waiting times for services for children with disabilities need to be improved significantly. A Programme for a Partnership Government commits the Government to improving these services and increasing supports for people with disabilities. This commitment is guided by two principles, namely, equality of opportunity and improving the quality of life of people with disabilities. Significant resources have been invested by the health sector in services for children with disabilities over the past number of years, in particular since the Independent Alliance went into government, with a particular focus on early assessment and intervention for children with special needs.

A number of initiatives are under way to improve access to therapy services. The HSE recognises that early intervention services and services for school-aged children need to be improved and organised more effectively, and this process is well under way nationally. The HSE is engaged in a reconfiguration of existing therapy resources for children into geographic-based teams. This will include Kerry. The objective is to provide one clear referral pathway for all children, irrespective of their disability, where they live or the school they attend. The implementation of this project was at a standstill for some time pending the resolution of various industrial relations issues. These have now been resolved. The appointment of children’s disability network managers has long been identified as a critical enabler for the project. A number of these managers were appointed last November and recruitment for the remaining posts is ongoing, with interviews scheduled for the week commencing 28 January. It is envisaged that the children’s disability network managers will be in place in the first quarter of 2019 and their appointment will enable all geographic areas to reconfigure this year, in line with the policy on progressing disability services for children and young people.

I am aware that in many parts of the country, parents experience significant delays in accessing the assessment of need process and additional measures are being taken to address this. I accept the Deputy's argument that Kerry is one of them. These include a standardised process to be used nationally for conducting the assessment. This will help children and young people with a disability to access the services they need as quickly as possible. The requirement for additional resources to provide appropriate and timely services for children and young people with complex needs has been identified by the HSE and the National Disability Authority. The allocation of 100 new development posts as part of budget 2019 will support the efforts to address the waiting times for access to therapy services.

The HSE is also addressing waiting lists with a cross-divisional team working on a detailed analysis of waiting times and resource deployment throughout the country. National service improvement groups and the HSE primary care unit are working with the chief officers in each area to address waiting lists. I take Deputy Ferris's views on board. We need to move on this as quickly as possible.

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