Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Tánaiste would have heard me in this House and elsewhere, on numerous occasions, highlight the unacceptable delays in children with additional needs in Cavan and Monaghan getting an assessment of needs and, where necessary, follow-up therapies. I fully appreciate the substantial increase in funding for such services since 2020, but the bottom line is that services are far from satisfactory. I heard some people in education say that, in some instances, less than the full assessment of needs would be sufficient. For example, they say a speech and language assessment alone would be sufficient to identify the particular supports essential for some children with additional needs. I am not in any way suggesting less than adequate assessment of the needs of such children. The overriding consideration must be the provision of appropriate supports in a timely manner. This is critical in so many instances in ensuring children are in proper school settings too. Recruitment of clinicians must be speeded up. Retention levels must be improved. Too many parents are literally going around in circles, being referred from one service to another and meanwhile the children wait and wait for therapies.

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