Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent) | Oireachtas source

At present in Laois-Offaly, a total of 1,118 children have been waiting in excess of 12 months for occupational therapy while 159 children have been waiting in excess of 12 months for speech therapy. As I am not here to raise the problem but to offer possible solutions, is any way in which therapists from other regions where there is not such a chronic backlog could be brought into Laois-Offaly to clear the backlog, while continuing with recruitment? I would be very supportive of that and grateful if that could be looked at.

As for day care services, it is of concern to many families of adults with intellectual disabilities that day care services are still not fully open. I know the Minister of State is doing her best with that and I commend her on the work she is doing. People have told me that they could not cope if these services were to be shut down again. It had a negative impact on the well-being of adults with disabilities. They asked me to raise with the Minister of State the plea that there would not be a full shutdown of this service in the future because people regressed and those adults and their families need every support they can get.

We ratified the UN convention, and that was the most positive development in this country for a while. I ask that that be matched with actions. For example, Ireland has the lowest employment rate for people with disabilities in the EU. It is almost 20% lower than the EU average of 50.8%. The poverty rates for people with disabilities are 10% higher than the EU average. Ireland ranks among the worst five countries in Europe. We need these things to be resolved, along with the other issues that exist, if we are to be truly inclusive and supportive of people with disabilities.

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