Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her response but the figures she laid out generally relate to positions that are vacant. The vacancy rate among speech and language in CHO 3 is 17%. In CHO 5, it is 46%. That is nearly half of the available posts, and the number of staff has reduced by five in that area. The vacancy rate for occupational therapists in CHO 3 is just 25% - a reduction of 5% on the 2021 figure - but CHO 2 has a 50% vacancy rate. Among psychologists in CHO 3, a quarter of posts are vacant. In CHO 5, at 48%, it is nearly half. These are just some of the figures in the report.

Then there is the case of dieticians, which I have raised here before. In CHO 5, which extends across the south east, there is one post filled out of eight allocated to CDNTs. The vacancy rate is 88%. That is a national scandal. I appreciate what the Minister of State is doing and what is happening, but I have raised the matter of a child in Cashel, my town, with avoidant restrictive food intake disorder, ARFID, in this House many times. That family is one of those who are fighting for services in an area where there is one dietician across the CDNTs. That is wrong on every level. According to the figures in the report, the situation is not improving. That family is caught again and again, and it is not fair on them.

I would appreciate if the Minister of State would answer two final questions. If she cannot answer today, I will contact her office. Does the Minister of State intend to roll out family forums nationwide or only in selected CHO areas? In light of the damning figures in the census reports for 2021 and 2022, will she address the need to develop a strategic workforce plan to train, recruit and retain therapists for the posts currently unavailable to families in Tipperary and in constituencies across the country?

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