Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

There remains a chronic shortage of speech and language therapy and physiotherapy services in special schools, with the waiting time for assessment by community disability network teams now being counted in years rather than weeks or months. Will the Taoiseach confirm whether the funds allocated in the HSE budget under the progressing disability services, PDS, programme will be used to reinstate services in special schools? I continue to be contacted by parents about this. Are there emergency measures that can be taken to speed up assessments?

There remain serious problems with obtaining a primary medical certificate from the HSE to confirm severe or permanent disability. Many cases are coming to my office in which applicants have been declined without medical assessment.

Since the entire Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal resigned in November 2021, no new board has yet been appointed. I ask that this be addressed without delay and a guarantee given that applications for a primary medical certificate from the HSE will be properly assessed.

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