Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As I did last evening, I put it to the Government in very clear terms exactly what it is that it neglected to do in last month's budget. Waiting list figures in the area of disability services for children have been unacceptably high for quite some time. There was an opportunity in budget 2020 to begin the process of clearing the waiting lists. There are serious delays for children waiting to access physiotherapy, occupational therapy and psychological treatments. I submitted a parliamentary question in June asking what the nationwide figure is for children waiting for psychological treatment in line with the provisions of the Disability Act 2005. That figure is 7,275 children. It is shocking. It is more shocking that knowing this the Minister of State has brought forward no new initiative and no new impetus was contained in budget 2020 to address this shameful fact. These figures mask the frustration of parents, teachers and others who know well that a professional intervention is needed on behalf of a child who, sadly, now must wait.

We want to see these lists cleared as soon as possible mindful of the damage that can be inflicted on the development of young people who are clearly in need of various assessments and treatments and who are denied an essential early intervention. My colleague, Deputy O'Reilly, tabled a parliamentary question hinting at a possible solution that the national treatment purchase fund could be used to seek treatment outside existing public HSE structures to clear the backlog in psychological assessments. She was given a disappointingly terse response that sums up the Government's attitude to these disgracefully large waiting list figures. The response from the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, was: "As psychological assessments and CAMHs services are not Inpatient/Daycase or Outpatient waiting lists within an Acute hospital setting, they do not meet current NTPF criteria." This seems to be totally at odds with the reply I received to my already mentioned parliamentary question.

In it, the HSE's national director of community operations stated: "The HSE is fully committed to working in partnership with service providers to achieve maximum benefits for children with complex needs, and aims to ensure that resources available are used in the most effective manner possible." The reply also states that the HSE is fully committed, so where is this happening? The facts are that 7,461 children have been waiting more than 52 weeks for their first occupational therapy assessments and 7,444 children are waiting for physiotherapy assessments. We know well that treatment which is delayed, especially in childhood, can have a devastating impact, sometimes with permanent consequences. The delays in the approval and now in the dispensing of Spinraza is seriously limiting the ability of those children with spinal muscular atrophy to reach their full potential. The Minister of State knows the figures. He has supplied them to me and to my colleagues. There are many ways to go about reducing and finally clearing these shameful waiting lists. I hope to hear that the Government is to examine some new mechanism or means of addressing this scandal.

Sinn Féin remains utterly frustrated by the slow rate of progress towards the delivery of the rights contained in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. I ask the Minister of State to note this particular point very well. Similarly, we believe that the optional protocol should be ratified without delay. The argument that all legislation must be brought up to speed before it is ratified does not stand up. I have said to the Minister of State, including this week, that we need Report and Final Stages of the Disability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2016 to be brought before the Dáil. Let me put on the record, and I challenge any contradiction, that Committee Stage has concluded.

I remind the Minister of State that the Dáil passed a Sinn Féin motion in April calling for the establishment of an all-party Dáil committee that would spearhead the putting in place and production of an autism empowerment strategy within a specified timeframe of six months. What steps have been taken to implement that express wish of the Dáil?

See this speech in context