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

In our constituency, there is a 27-month waiting time for the early intervention team. There is also a waiting time of between 36 and 40 months for the school age disability team. Parents have gone to the Minister of State's advice clinic and they have come to mine. They are distraught trying to get the services their children require.

Does the Minister of State accept that disability services for children are in crisis on the north side of Dublin? Consider occupational therapy. In CHO 9, the most recent figures we received show that 1,967 under 18s are waiting, with 881 waiting for longer than a year. When a child must wait a year or two, can it really be called early intervention? The Minister of State is aware of the situation. I appreciate that he has set out the reasons for so many people presenting for services, but there is a crisis and parents are distraught. The Minister of State has responsibility for disability services and this is his constituency. We must address the issue.

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