Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to use my limited time to speak about how children with disabilities are being failed by the Government. I acknowledge this is more related to the brief of the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, than that of the Minister present, Deputy Humphreys. I will give the example of a young boy from my constituency, whom I will call John for the purpose of anonymity. John is 11 years old and started the assessment-of-needs process in 2020. His mother reports that he is showing signs of ASD and has been waiting for a psychology assessment as part of his assessment of needs. His condition has been deteriorating since 2020. In the past two years, he has missed 40 days of school due to anxiety. Previously, the average was ten. His mother submitted a complaint under the Disability Act to the HSE in May 2023. This was upheld and it was recommended that John receive an assessment of need no later than 5 April 2024. The date 5 April has come and gone and John has still not received his assessment of needs.

John’s situation is not unique. There are thousands of Johns right across the State. It breaks my heart every time I have to send a copy-and-paste answer from the HSE to parents who are desperate to get the help their children need. One such copy-and-paste response states assessments of needs remain delayed as a direct result of Ms Justice Phelan’s March 2022 High Court ruling. The delay in children getting their assessments of need is not because of Ms Justice Phelan’s High Court ruling; it is simply because the Government broke the law. I warned the Government at the time that it was doing so but it carried on regardless. The Government has spent €1.2 million in legal fees fighting parents of children with disabilities.

The Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, stated one of his regrets was not amending the legislation immediately. I agree that the legislation should be amended, but not to water it down. It needs to be expanded so children will get the therapies they need, including psychological, occupational and speech and language therapy, in a timely manner. What is happening is an old-fashioned three-card trick, with children being moved from list to list without getting the therapies they need at the end of the process. There is no bigger crime than denying a child the right to reach his or her full potential.

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