Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Rabbitte, who thanks the Deputy for raising this matter. The Minister is fully committed to the continued development and enhancement of our children’s disability services through the CDNTs, as they seek to ensure equitable access to services for all children with complex needs. The Minister of State acknowledges the difficulties faced by children and their families seeking to access the services of CDNTs in CHO 5 and takes this opportunity to reiterate her unhappiness at this situation and her commitment to addressing the underlying issues.

Presently, there are significant challenges both nationally and globally regarding the recruitment and retention of health and social care professionals, particularly for children’s disability services. While funding has been allocated, vacancy rates in CDNTs unfortunately remain high. In CHO 5, the HSE advises that the vacancy rate of the teams stands at 41% which equates to around 92.05 whole-time equivalent posts out of the approved 223.78 posts. This is based on the 2022 CDNT census. However, the HSE advises that the latest census is expected to be available in the very near future.

The Minister of State can assure the Deputy there is ongoing recruitment for vacant posts in CHO 5, both through the HSE’s national recruitment services and the HSE HR section at a local level. The HSE launched the first nationwide CDNT recruitment campaign in January 2024 with the theme "Be part of our team, be part of their lives". The Minister of State has been advised by the HSE that, at this time,and without prejudging the final outcome of the recruitment and selection process, CHO 5 is anticipated to significantly benefit from job offers arising from this campaign. If those offers were to be accepted by the applicants, it would represent an approximate 25% increase in staffing across CHO 5. However, to sound a note of caution, the applicants concerned may have other offers from the competition, so the Minister of State will await the finalisation of the process and a more detailed report from the HSE.

The Minister of State welcomes additional measures being progressed under the progressing disability services roadmap to increase capacity on CDNTs, including student sponsorship programmes for health and social care professionals; a target of 175 therapy assistants to support health and social care professionals in delivering the most effective and efficient services in environments appropriate to each child’s needs; and dedicated work on marketing CDNTs as workplaces of choice. While recruitment measures are ongoing, the Minister of State can advise that the HSE is driving forward several initiatives to reduce waiting times and strengthen services for children waiting. These include sourcing assessments and interventions from private service providers and the imminent launch of the children’s disability service grant fund. The launch of this fund called for applications from disability service providers and community groups who can provide additional and innovative services, including, but not limited to, recognised sensory programmes; evidence-based therapies; respite services, including clubs, evening and weekend sessions; Saturday clubs; sports sessions; and additional therapy sessions for service users such as managing challenging behaviours. There was a huge response from voluntary and community groups and private agencies, with around 495 applications for funding. The HSE intends to issue letters to applicants in the very near future and commence the process of engagement around the drawdown of funds.

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