Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies for tabling the motion. I welcome the opportunity to restate the Government’s commitment to children with disabilities and their families. It was just three weeks ago that children's disabilities services were also the subject of a Private Members' motion. On that occasion, my colleagues, the Ministers of State, Deputies Rabbitte and Butler, articulated the challenges, merits and, indeed, faults in the provision of disability services for children in Ireland today. I can say without fear of contradiction that everyone in the House strives to improve access and reduce waiting times for children who require therapy supports. The AON process can be a part of the journey families take in obtaining these supports. Recent events have caused the approach taken to date to be reconsidered. For this reason, the Government is not opposing the motion.

Later on in his contribution, the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, after listening to the contributions of all the Deputies in the House, will address the substantive issues surrounding the recent High Court judgment concerning the SOP for children as regards the assessment of need, the provision of section 13 reports by the HSE to the Department of Health and his vision of the roadmap ahead for children's disability services.

We all want the best for our children. We want the best education to give them the best start in life and the best health services to be available for children when they need them. For those parents of children with complex needs, we want the best disability services to support each child to achieve their full potential in life. It is incumbent on the Government to constantly endeavour to improve services for children with developmental disabilities and their families. We must seek to develop the most appropriate models of therapeutic responses and supports so that children with complex needs have an environment whereby they can thrive and achieve their potential.

It would be wrong to ignore the fact that there have been difficulties in certain parts of the country in the implementation of the progressing disability services programme by the HSE. These issues have resulted in delays for some families in accessing much-needed assessment and intervention services for their children. The Government is fully committed to ensuring timely access to high-quality health and social care services for all children and young people who require them. We must work together to find suitable means to overcome the constraints affecting service delivery. I know the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is addressing this with the urgency that is required.

One of the criticisms of the family-centred practice model is that parents are now being asked to take on the role of therapist for their children. It is important this issue be addressed as there has undoubtedly been a great deal of confusion around it. I understand there is existing and growing evidence that more traditional models of service may provide limited skills retention and transfer into the child's everyday life. Supporting and empowering families and others to work with the child in their natural everyday environment is, however, considered to be more effective. The child or young person is no longer solely reliant on one-to-one input from specialists; rather, those who surround him or her day to day are empowered to maximise opportunities for growth and development in their everyday environments. The current clinical thinking on this issue is that it provides an holistic approach to the provision of therapy supports. However, as stated publicly by the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, the HSE's messaging around this has not been clear and it has been perceived as shifting more responsibility onto parents. While all families are willing to do their very best for their children, parents or guardians are not therapists. The family-centred approach must be underpinned, supported and facilitated by specialist therapy personnel. Nobody is trying to remove clinical supports from children. We need to bolster them, not reduce them.

The family-centred model is a complementary approach to providing therapeutic supports, rather than an alternative approach which has been suggested. As children journey through childhood, different approaches and models of intervention may be recommended at different times to meet the individual child's emerging needs. It is vital that there is buy-in to this approach. This is why it was important that the HSE facilitated two national conferences in advance of the reconfiguration of the network teams. These were themed on partnership and family-centred practice respectively. They were for staff and, more importantly, for families. These conferences highlighted the move from the previous uni-disciplinary service provision to an authentic child and family-centred model of service. I note that the two events were attended by 750 and 1,500 participants, respectively. This is a collaborative approach to address the needs of children with complex needs and will require commitment and co-operation between families, educational institutions, healthcare providers and professionals and other stakeholders. This is all with one single unity of purpose and objective to ensure each child with a disability receives the best and optimum level of therapeutic supports required to meet his or her needs.

While accepting that significant levels of health and social care services in the community were curtailed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I understand the HSE has confirmed that the restoration and continuity of services has been progressed in a safe way in line with the significant investment made by the State and funded agencies. The HSE continues to work with service users and their families and carers to ensure that we achieve this aim.

We need a collective approach along with renewed ideas as to how services can be consolidated effectively and enhanced. Not one of us here this evening wants to see a child waiting any longer than necessary to access therapy supports. I assure all that the Government and, in particular, my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, will remain focused on providing the best possible services we can to ensure those with disabilities and their families receive assistance.

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