Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to speak on this motion. I congratulate the Joint Committee on Disability Matters on all the work it has done. I want to note how fast problems are increasing when it comes to the challenges faced by children in need of disability services. This report was published in February. At that time, the HSE had confirmed that an average gap of 28% existed in respect of vacant positions across the CDNTs. Recently the Road Map for Service Improvement was published. It noted there is now an average vacancy rate of 34%. According to the roadmap, this equates to around 700 positions, with some teams experiencing a vacancy rate of over 60%. That is how fast the CDNTs are moving backwards. Neither south Tipperary nor north Tipperary is immune from this. Both have seen the number of applications for assessment overdue by six months increase from the first quarter of this year to the second quarter of the year. This is deeply worrying. I have to wonder how effective the roadmap is going to be, considering that the HSE has been underfunded. There is a recruitment freeze and the section 39 proposals have not been formally agreed yet. It is deeply worrying that legislation is in place committing to a timeline for initial assessment but after that there is no commitment. The Seanad has been discussing legislation to address this. Troublingly, efforts have already been made to kick it down the road and it is questionable whether it will be dealt with in the lifetime of this Government. I would appreciate it if the Minister of State could expand on this.

I thank the committee for including in its report the need to develop a management information system and case management system that would measure the metrics and the outcomes for families all the way through the process. I note that the intention is to roll out the system by the second quarter of 2024. However, it is a matter of concern that under the current system, where that is manually entered, considerable under-reporting is expected. What provisions are being made for that?

I ask the House to forgive me for harping on about the roadmap, but it extends to the point made in the committee's final report that the aim is to provide in-person first interventions for the 16,500 children on the waiting list. What can their families expect? Are they going to be given a meeting and sent home with leaflets and then have to wait a year or more for the system to actually start working for their children? The real fear is that the delays will be hidden behind the first intervention.

Parents have drawn my attention to a question that has been asked by organisations such as the Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists. Where was the engagement with families, front-line clinicians or unions in developing the document? Is this the manner in which we intend to proceed? What is the response of the Minister of State to their concerns about the ability to implement the much-required changes in paediatric disability services for children, families and clinicians?

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