Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We are not prepared to allow the current situation to continue. All focus will be on improving access to therapies, for children in particular, and turning around the entire approach from the earliest days of a child coming out of paediatric services. There is not a sufficient link between coming out of paediatric services and follow-on services. In some cases, however, the needs of children will not be immediately apparent. Some manifest later in a child's life, but there needs to be far greater synergy between the world of paediatrics and the follow-up and early childcare services. We also need to increase significantly the capacity, context and environment for therapists to work. There have been challenges within the CDNT teams. In many cases, the workload has been particularly onerous and many therapists have left the service. There is now a difficulty recruiting therapists to the service, notwithstanding the funding we made available to enable them to do so.

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