Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

When the Taoiseach resumed his current role in December he announced that a unit would be set up within his Department to focus on reducing child poverty and improving well-being in order to make Ireland the best country in Europe in which to be a child. I believe it would help if we started by improving access to necessary therapies through primary care services, including occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and physiotherapy. We have all seen the crisis in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, CAMHS, exposed by the Mental Health Commission report, but the reality is that all services for children are in crisis. Two of the most significant battles faced by parents of children with a disability relate to getting a diagnosis and after that long, tortuous process, the second struggle is the inaccessibility of regular supports. Mary and her son, David, who is in fourth class, are one example. The family had to go privately to secure a diagnosis because of the current waiting lists for a referral for CAMHS, occupational therapy referral and an educational psychological assessment. They have been forced down this road, borrowing from grandparents, because otherwise David would be in secondary school by the time he would get access to an appointment under the current public health system due to the horrendous waiting lists. His mum has now been advised that David is likely to need physiotherapy in a couple of years to assist him with his condition. Given the current waiting list this means that he needs to be put on the waiting list now in a pre-emptive move to ensure that he can have access to the services when he needs them.

However, what about the children whose parents or grandparents cannot pay for such interventions? They are at the mercy of the ever-growing public waiting lists. The State is failing in its obligation to provide the early intervention and support that these children urgently need.

Investing in our children at a young age makes much more sense and allows them to reach their full potential and actively contribute to our society. We need to stop these children being effectively hidden away in a corner. In the past, that hiding may have been physical; now it is emotional as their potential wastes away while they wait and wait for access to services. These are the essential services that we must provide to help these children reach their full potential. We should provide these services as a fundamental right for all our children and I urge the Taoiseach to prioritise this within the new unit in his Department.

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