Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In the past few months, I received a message that the Blakestown CDNT in Dublin 15 had informed a parent that her child would not receive services for 72 months. I was so stunned at the date that I asked her if it was in writing, which she confirmed. She dropped the letter up to me. I know the Minister has that latter. Before the CDNT service, we used to have early intervention teams and school age teams. It seems that the change in name has done nothing to provide either early intervention or school supports for autistic children. In fact, it has worsened. It is important to put names to these. I have a letter here, which states that the writer is writing to me regarding their son Jaden, who is due to start primary school in September 2025, and he has epilepsy, autism and a feeding tube. The letter states that his psychologist said he will need a cognisant assessment before he starts primary school and that they sent off the assessment of need form, which needs to be completed before the parent can enrol him in primary school, to see what recommendations are given for him. It states that they have heard nothing back and enrolment starts in most schools at the end of November. They are getting worried that he will not be able to start school on time because this assessment has not been completed. They ask if there is anything I can do.

There is another case. The writer states that they have finally received their son, Luke's, service statement for his assessment of need, which was a two-year battle. The correspondence states that the report recommends that he requires supports, including psychology, speech and language therapy and occupational therapy, from his local CDNT in Blakestown. They state that the waiting list is currently in excess of 72 months, which is six years. The letter states that this is a direct result of recruitment and retention issues in Blakestown CDNT since the team was established. Luke will have completed primary school at the end of that stage, which is far too late to receive any early intervention. The writer states that as a trained neuropsychiatric and developmental disability nurse, having worked for many years in the field in Australia, it is truly devastating that our young children are not given the supports to enable them to progress and nurture their developmental needs. They state that having had the experience, they have been fortunate enough to have navigated the system thus far, but there are many parents and families who are not so fortunate. They state that the primary care team diagnosed Luke with autism spectrum disorder and discharged him in the same meeting, which is a massive diagnosis to receive, with no follow-up care. They state that his next service or intervention is in six years.

That is absolutely appalling.

See this speech in context