Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the Deputy's concerns about this issue. Unfortunately, I do not have the statistics in front of me to which he referred. All I can tell him is that the Government has acknowledged the challenge that exists in providing paediatric occupational therapy services in Wexford. There is a campaign to recruit people throughout the country and it is more difficult to recruit in some areas than in others. I am not here to give the Deputy an answer as to why more children would be waiting longer for an assessment in one area compared with another area. I do not know the reason for that and I cannot understand it, to be honest.

However, the challenges that face us all are to make sure that intervention is provided for children who need it. As I stated in my reply, provision has been made for the inclusion of expanded services for school-age children and for additional clinics delivered by the Central Remedial Clinic to address the needs of those who are waiting the longest. It is significant that there is such intervention in schools and that is becoming more prevalent with speech and language therapy and occupational therapy services.

I am here to read a statement but also to note the concerns raised by the Deputy and to acknowledge that in his role of representing Wexford, there are needs in this area that must be addressed. Unfortunately, I cannot address them at the level that he requires. However, I will, as usual, relay the information to the Minister and ask him to come back to the Deputy personally on some of the statistics, when people will be seen, and when the staff who are required will be recruited into the services in Wexford. Unfortunately, I do not have any other answer for the Deputy. I could read a prepared response in conclusion but it would just outline what I stated in my initial reply.

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