Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. We met in the office some months ago where we discussed these issues. It is not acceptable and I have said this repeatedly. I have convened meetings with all the relevant Ministers in the areas of education and health. There is an issue with the roll-out of the progressing disability services programme. That had an impact, in my view, on the availability of therapists in special schools and therapists more generally, which is patchy across the country. There is not a sufficient number of therapists in place to provide for children on the health side of things. While the education side has responded well, the health side has not. The HSE is saying that the recruitment of therapists is its biggest problem and challenge for assessments. We will go back to get this issue sorted.

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