Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The first comment I have to make is that I found out there is more than one CDNT 4 in the country. It is a funny way of naming things. The one I am talking about is in Connemara and covers all of Connemara. It is based in Spiddal and Connemara is as big as most counties on its own. It is a huge geographic area, particularly when you have to drive around the inlets, bays, mountains and hills.

We all know that early intervention is really beneficial for young people and children. The earlier the intervention and the more thorough it is, the better. Giving excuses about why it is not happening is not any good for those children for the rest of their lives. We are talking about affecting people's future permanently. In the long term, it is also imposing a significant cost on the State, with more intervention being needed. As they say, a stitch in time saves nine.

I am not going to mention who is involved in the case. It is the case of a young person. I raised the issues of physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. I understand there is a physiotherapy appointment about every three to four months. I love the terminology in what I am told, which is that the child is wait-listed for individualised team intervention from speech and language therapy and occupational therapy, but unfortunately, CDNT 4 is not in a position to identify timeframes for children to be taken off the waiting lists. This child went on the waiting list in October 2021. It goes on to say that CDNT 4 continues to have recruitment challenges and is making efforts to recruit. That does not wash with me because as I was sharply told one time when I started giving excuses, excuses do not get the job done.

I am highlighting it today because we have often seen in the State that when a thing becomes urgent and it is seen that people are not going to lie down and just accept this second-class service, suddenly, miraculously, ways are found of getting, procuring and providing the service. I have, on behalf of many people, chased down the lack of services in CDNT 4, otherwise known as the Connemara children's disability network team for a long time. What I need to know today is quite simple. The problems that the CDNT has are HSE problems. That is not my business. My only concern is when these children will get a service. When will they get the service when they need it? When will we adhere to the principle of early intervention and a stitch in time saving nine?

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