Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In relation to special schools, this has now been going on for in excess of two years. It was in May 2021 that we placed a pause on the removal of therapists from special schools. We then sourced our secure funding for 86 therapists to be replaced into schools. Overall, we secured funding for 221 therapists, and only 126 have been returned. When I say “returned”, I mean that they were returned to special schools and that they are part and parcel of their local CDNT team. We have had some good success on this. Yet, in other areas, we are very challenged and unfortunately, we are quite challenged in the Cork area.

There is a complete willingness within the HSE to find a solution to work with ETBs. I must acknowledge the patience of the parents in this regard. I have no doubt that we will find a Wexford model that can be applied to a Cork solution.

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