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

Yes, there are a lot of questions. I will read the blacks later on in order that I can obtain answers to them all. The questions that the Deputy has asked are no different from those asked by parents in Tipperary, Clonmel, Galway, Dublin, Limerick or wherever. These are the questions that every parent wants to get answers for.

I thank the Deputy for raising these important issues for discussion in the House. I am involved in ongoing discussions with the HSE on this matter in light of the urgency involved. I am going to focus on the SOP. I hope that is okay with the Deputy. It relates to one of his main questions.

I met the HSE last Tuesday, 15 March, following the ruling to discuss the High Court ruling with the HSE. Let me be quite clear with the Deputy and the House. I am opposed to the HSE appealing this ruling, and I made that clear at my meeting last week. It is clear that the SOP is not fulfilling the legal obligations of the HSE and that any such appeal would waste State funds. In fairness to the HSE, its intention not to appeal was stated yesterday at the meeting of the Joint Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. I have always been acutely aware that there were differing views on the SOP, which is why I was keen to see the results of the review of the standard operation procedure for assessment of need for children, which was launched by me in March 2021. The review group is chaired by Mr. Robbie Ryan and comprises five nominees from Fórsa and five from the HSE. It was the intention of the chairperson to issue interim reports after three months and six months and a final report after 12 months. Unfortunately, these reports have not come before me, but I actually see the review now as being redundant because the court has made its ruling.

What is clear is that the old assessment of needs process was not working. That is was why we had a backlog of 6,500 children when I was appointed in June 2020. We now see that the SOP cannot be used so the HSE and, indeed, this House needs to ensure that we have a system that supports children and their families. All Deputies will agree that the assessment of needs process must have at its core the development of any child with a disability to reach his or her full potential.

I am conscious that the Deputy does not want me to engage in any corporate speak so let me try get into dealing with some of his questions. One of the questions relates to retention and recruitment. Two weeks ago, on the floor of the House, I announced during the debate on a Sinn Féin Private Members' Bill that we are recruiting assistant psychologists within the network disability teams, which would be the first time ever that we have done this. It happens in primary care and mental health, but it was not happening in the area of disability. The second thing I announced on that particular evening was that we would have more senior grade positions. Why should we have more senior grade positions? It is in order that we can have better clinical oversight and encourage more people to come in at a staff level. So more people would be seen to but we would also have more senior experience. That is one of the things we are lacking within the area of disability. As more senior clinical posts are being advertised in the areas of primary care, the care of older persons and mental health, we are losing out.

There is another aspect - this was also raised at yesterday's meeting of the committee - regarding the panel system. I do not believe the panel system is fit for purpose or that it is working. In fact, the panel system is eroding the number of staff available in the area of disability.

The Deputy sought a breakdown in respect of every CHO. It is quite clear from listening to Mr. Bernard O'Regan yesterday that not one of the 91 teams has its full complement of staff. I acknowledge that, and I am currently working on recruitment. Let us be fair, it is not that we have not put funding into it. A serious amount of funding has gone into recruitment. In excess of 365 people have been recruited. I acknowledge that this is still not enough, but that does not mean to say that we will not continue working in order to ensure that we get a solution. I do believe that these teams will work.

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