Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As it is my first time speaking in the Chamber, I ask the Ceann Comhairle to indulge me a moment as I thank the people of Togher, Dunleer, Ardee, Drogheda, Dundalk, Termonfeckin, the peninsula up in the north side of the county, and of course the constituents in east Meath for the faith they have placed in me and their trust that I will represent them to the best of my ability. I would like to reassure them for the time that I am in this Dáil that I will always represent them as true as I possibly can. I will be proud and always very, very Louth.

As the Minister knows, Louth is the most densely populated county in the country after Dublin. We have a dire lack of OT services. The queues and waiting times for speech and language therapy, have gone from months into years, as many of colleagues have said. I recently spoke to a mother of a son with ASD and a series of complex issues. She is spending between €500 and €600 each month on the various therapies that she requires for him. That is before the cost of petrol, time off and any of the additional things she needs for her son. It is also before she tends to the care of her other two children. This is nothing new and we are well aware of it. I welcome the Minister's statements and the plan for Government to address these issues. Funnily enough, the biggest question this mother has as she is running from pillar to post is: "What happens if something happens to me?" What happens when she is gone? While we have very long waiting times and while in County Louth, we need a whole series of additional services, what strikes me is the lack of community services for when these young children become young adults and fully fledged adults in later life.

I recently visited Rehab with the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, and we spoke to many of the users there. I would invite anyone to go down and visit at any stage because they really put a pep in your step and fill your hearts with joy. The fact of the matter is without these community services we cannot guarantee that these people will not inappropriately or prematurely end up in nursing homes. Can we ensure that these people will never finish up inappropriately in nursing homes?

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