Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I hope the Minister of State is right. The issue of children who are overdue assessments under the Disability Act has been a running sore for some time. Colleagues in the Dáil, including my party's spokesperson on disability, Deputy Murphy O'Mahony, have put sustained pressure on the Government in this regard, which has resulted in some improvements, especially in Cork and Kerry where the number waiting at the start of 2018 was scandalous. In CHO 9, which covers the north side of Dublin, we have seen the number going the opposite way. There were 442 overdue assessments in the second quarter of 2018. That increased to 707 by the second quarter of this year, representing a significant increase of almost 60%. The Minister of State will agree that to have so many children unable to receive their legal entitlement within the statutory timeframe is wrong. Why has this happened and what has been done to address it? It is all very well intending to fill the posts in question, but will the Minister of State assure the House that they will be filled in order to improve this drastic situation?

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