David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This is the second motion in three weeks that Sinn Féin has brought forward on this issue and the reason we have brought it forward today is because of a High Court ruling that has taken place since we moved our previous motion. We warned the Government that the HSE and indeed the Government itself were operating outside of the law when it came to providing children with disabilities with the comprehensive assessment of need that they are entitled to and that they deserve under the Disability Act 2005. That is what we have been saying for some time. The Government ignored our calls and those of parents and forced many parents to take the HSE to court, some hundreds of whom have done so. In this case, two parents took a test case and they won. Fair play to them because they were standing up not just for their children but for all children.

I appreciate that the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, is nodding his head in agreement. We are all in agreement in this House that more needs to be done. We also have to be honest, however, and say that it should absolutely fill every single one of us with shame that time and again parents have to go to court to get basic assessments done, to get services for their children or to get the HSE to operate within the law.

This is not only the case when it comes to assessments of need. Under the 2005 Act, the HSE is legally obliged to furnish the Minister for Health every year with what is called a section 13 report which outlines the aggregate need of all of the children in terms of therapies, supports and services. Not one of those reports has been submitted since 2015. When I raised this with the head of the HSE and its officials at the Joint Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, the casual approach by senior management in the HSE was absolutely shocking. I am dumbfounded when it comes to the lack of accountability and transparency in the HSE. When it comes to disability services for children, where the HSE has been found on numerous times to be in breach of the law and of its statutory obligations, one would imagine that the head of the HSE and the head of disability services would come into an Oireachtas committee, put their hands up, apologise, admit it was shameful and say that they were going to fix the problem.

I hope the Minister and the Government would say the same and start to fund children's disability services properly so children can get the assessments and services they need.

The Minister of State at the Department of Health has been telling us for months in the House, and I know she is sincere when it comes to this issue, that we are reducing the waiting times for assessments and that we have almost cleared the waiting lists. We were asked to give this information to parents. We took that information to the parents, but they tell us this is not the case. As it turned out, it was not the case. What we had was a sleight of hand with children thrown from one list to another. More than half of all the children who had a preliminary team's assessment have seen that set aside by a High Court judge as it was operating outside the law. Half of the children who had this preliminary teams assessment needed a multidisciplinary team assessment and have now gone onto a separate waiting list. After going through all the agony of waiting for an assessment only to find out it was not an assessment but a screening and then to be put on a different waiting list, it is heartbreaking for parents. I have met many of them and I cannot tell the Minister of State how angry they are that they do not see action by the HSE and the Government.

Can the HSE and the Government please stop breaking the law when it comes to children's disability services? There is no other area where the HSE is on multiple occasions and in multiple areas in breach of its statutory and legal obligations. Why is it tolerated when it comes to children's disability services? Stop breaking the law and cutting corners. It must provide the disability teams with the staff they need. We are setting out solutions in the motion, and we did so on the last occasion. We want children to have a comprehensive assessment of need. That means we must recruit staff to build up assessment teams. Equally, there must be a workforce planning strategy that deals with training more therapists and support staff and recruiting more and retaining more. If we do not do that, we will continue to fail children.

I will conclude with a final comment. I have spoken to many children who have not received the services and I have also spoken to young adults. They feel they have been failed. They are young adults and they did not receive early intervention and the supports they needed. The developmental opportunities that were there for them have passed them, and they are angry. They do not want to see that happen to any more children so, please, stop breaking the law, properly resource the services and stop letting down the parents and children with disabilities. It is shameful.

See this speech in context