Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies for raising this important matter. As Deputy Carroll MacNeill said, it is not a school in the ordinary sense of a school and it is important for people who are looking in here to understand this. We are discussing the most vulnerable young people in society. The Deputies will be aware that I have met with parents and families of Carmona on a number of occasions, as well as visiting Carmona earlier this year with Deputies Devlin and Carroll MacNeill. I know all too well the difficulties they have faced during the roll-out of the progressing disability services model, PDS, in this area. PDS should never have been a one-size-fits-all.

I also recognise the challenges in meeting the demand for children's disability services and I am acutely aware of how this impacts on children and their families in these most difficult and challenging times. That said, I assure the House that from my perspective the HSE carried out all requests and directions made by myself when it came to pausing the removal of therapy posts from special schools. The pause button was hit so I could work with the Department and HSE on securing an additional 85 therapists for our special schools, which was successfully achieved before the summer, including the posts remaining in Carmona.

Local HSE disability services under the auspices of Community Healthcare East disability service have informed me that they have acted in good faith and in an open and transparent manner with the information received from the current service provider, St. John of God, and in communication with parents and the principal of the Carmona school. Having made inquiries with the HSE on this matter I have been informed that the pre-Covid allocation of whole-time equivalent levels based on the information given by St. John of God in April 2021 is as follows: occupational therapist at 0.4, which is equivalent to two days a week; senior physiotherapist at 0.38, which is equivalent to approximately two days a week; and speech and language therapist at 0.2, which is equivalent to approximately one day a week. This is where the issue lies. It seems that there may have been an underestimation of services delivered on the ground by the previous provider, as parents have indicated that the clinicians were present more often than this. The Deputies have clearly articulated this that we have had this discussion abroad in Carmona. I am hearing that and I am clearly understanding it. It seems that this is where the breakdown in communication stems from and why there is a perceived difference.Perhaps it was the Excel sheet and the way it was worded or delivered or interpreted. The HSE acted on the information as it was requested.

I am told that the level of support as indicated by the previous provider is being provided by the children's disability network team, CDNT, assigned to the school. The new lead agency, Enable Ireland, which under the PDS has replaced St. John of God, is actively recruiting to fill these vacancies to ensure on-site support in the school for the future.I gave a commitment for on-site support. The CDNT is undertaking a thorough due diligence exercise in respect of the children who attend Carmona to ensure safe and appropriate services will continue to be provided under the PDS model of service delivery over the next two weeks. They will review the transfer reports to identify if a number of specific supports need to be scheduled for the children. They will also ascertain the needs of the children and resources required from the CDNT going forward, and the above information will assist in this analysis. It is a complete review of the Excel from April 2021.

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