Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion. It is striking the length to which the State has gone to try to cover up the reality of the extremely long waiting lists for children who have special needs. It is ingenious of the State to try to do so. This stands in contrast with the absence of similar ingenuity matched with resources to provide children with the care they need. If a little of the effort that went into covering this problem up went in, matched with resources, to providing the services, therapy and so on that children need, we would be in a much better place than we currently are. As everybody here knows, the scandal is that we have families who should be able to focus on their children instead having to focus on fighting for things that should be a basic right. They have to take court cases against the State and contact Deputies and Ministers to try to get something for their children. For those who can afford it, and the point was well made earlier that often they can barely afford it, they are told to go private.

I spoke to a woman, Kate, earlier today, whose son, Connor, has verbal or oral dyspraxia. Today, finally, he got a public assessment of needs, after waiting eight months, but it will be 12 months before he begins to get the therapy he needs. He will get it once a week for six to eight weeks and then it will stop for a period of months, after which he will get it again and it will stop, and so on. It will be done in blocks, whereas all the best international expert evidence says it needs to be done regularly and continuously and there must be early intervention. People like Kate and Connor should not be failed by the State in this way.

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