Frank O'Rourke (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am disappointed that the Minister of State with responsibility for disability, Deputy Finian McGrath, is not in the House for this important matter but I acknowledge his engagement with me, on a one-to-one basis and alongside the different groups I have brought in from my constituency.

I represent Kildare North, which is in the CHO 7 area. There is an assessment of need and there are then follow-up services and care, based on what was identified in the assessment of need. The assessment takes approximately two years from the application date to the appointment date. What is of most concern is that when the assessment of need is carried out, the programme of supports and services identified as critical to help a child meet his or her full potential, whether it is occupational therapy, speech and language therapy or physiotherapy, particularly in the area of ASD, is not provided for two years or more. That is completely and utterly unacceptable and unfair because these children are the most vulnerable in society. They are being cared for and loved by their parents who have to fight every step of the way for everything. The whole process needs to be reviewed and an intervention, either with funding or better accountability, is required.

Parents have come to me having borrowed between €1,600 and €2,500 from loan sharks to cover the cost of an assessment of need for their children. This is unacceptable.

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