Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

In my opinion that is not enough. It is not working. The child and disability network teams are chronically understaffed. They cannot recruit and retain people. CAMHS teams have half the staff they need. We had school principals in the Houses last week saying they and teachers are burnt out and stressed and they cannot recruit people. They are actually relying on people who are unqualified in teaching because they cannot actually get teachers. It is a similar picture in the health service.

The consequences of course are dire for service users. There are long waiting lists. I brought up a case today with the Taoiseach of a woman whose five-year-old was diagnosed in 2023 with an intellectual disability and autism. She got an appointment for speech and language therapy in July 2024. However, she then received a letter saying she is not getting it until January 2026. This is because of staff shortages. We need to do more.

See this speech in context