Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have raised this matter directly with the Taoiseach and the Minister for Education and Skills. I have also written to the Minister for Health, the Minister of State with responsibility for disability and the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. I hope I will get an answer to my question today.

I am sure the Minister of State will agree that it is appalling that a child with profound and complex needs must wait 42 months to have its needs assessed by a team and, hopefully, addressed through speech and language therapy. That is the official waiting time for a child in community healthcare organisation, CHO, area 7. In response to a letter I wrote in June 2018 concerning a child who had been waiting for assessment since 2016, I was told there were 95 other children ahead of the child in question and the team was working at maximum capacity. At that stage, the team was dealing with referrals made in May 2015. In December, I wrote another letter to CHO area 7 about a separate case. This time, I was told that there were 298 children ahead of the child in question on the speech and language waiting list, a further 80 children were being screened and a further eight were waiting to transition from the early intervention service to the speech and language service. There are currently 222 children ahead of this particular child. The current waiting time for assessment is 42 months.

According to the reply I received, there has been no movement on the waiting list in the past 11 months owing to the large number of children who have transitioned from the early intervention service, the capacity caseloads of team members, delays in filling vacancies and the failure to replace staff on maternity leave. I was also informed of the staff positions that are vacant. A staff grade educational psychologist post has been vacant since December. A staff grade psychologist is only available on a half-time basis and a half-time senior speech and language therapy position is also vacant. Other posts that remain unfilled include a social worker and a staff grade physiotherapist. It is clear the team is broken and that this is causing the backlog.

A significant increase in health and social care professionals is required to adequately meet demand for services for children in CHO area 7. Additional resources are required to address the backlog. It is unfair that any child is left in this position. One expert told me that every day that a child is left without this support represents a backwards step of two days. For a child waiting three and a half years that represents seven years in his or her development. This must not be allowed to continue.

The latest census figures suggest that the increased population and increased prevalence of disability will result in increased demand in future. Families and parents are at their wits' end. Where do they go from here? Clearly, the system is broken. One suggestion is that parents should go down the private route, but that is a costly alternative. Many of the families who contact me are not in a position to take the private route.

Does the Minister of State agree that the policy of early intervention is not working if children must wait 42 months to secure access to a team? God knows how long they must wait after that to receive speech and language therapy.

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