Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate Deputies Sheehan and Quaide on their recent election to the Dáil and I thank them for their interest in all health matters.

The Minister for Health has asked me to thank Deputy Sheehan for raising this important matter and for the opportunity to update the Dáil on it. Primary care therapy services, such as speech and language therapy, play a central role in providing care and treatment to children and adults in the community. There have been persistent challenges in recruiting certain grades of health and social care professionals to meet the demands for primary care therapy services and other community-based services, in part due to the lack of availability of suitably qualified candidates. In July 2024 we saw the lifting of the HSE recruitment pause. Each of the six health regions and each national service has been provided with a specified number of whole-time equivalents and can replace, recruit and prioritise staff within that approved number. This has given the health regions further control to focus resources where there is the greatest need and it informs decision-making at local level on the filling of available posts.

Specifically, to address the Deputy’s question, primary care speech and language therapy services are provided for the community of King’s Island and the surrounding areas in Limerick from King’s Island primary care centre. I note the Deputy's comments around the area being disadvantaged and the challenges in the local national school. The HSE has advised that the staff grade paediatric speech and language therapist post in King’s Island primary care centre has been vacant since January 2024 due to the resignation of the post holder. Since this post became vacant last year, all new referrals have been and will continue to be triaged by senior speech and language therapists within the north Limerick city network. However, I do have some good news that I am happy to report.

Approval has been given for the permanent backfilling of the vacant speech and language therapist post in King’s Island Primary Care Centre. The HSE has advised that this post has been recently accepted from the national staff grade speech and language therapist panel.

The HSE has further advised that it will be a number of weeks before the speech and language therapist is in post. However, as an interim measure, it has been agreed that a new graduate grade paediatric speech and language therapist employed through an agency will provide a level of cover at King's Island Primary Care Centre until the post is filled permanently.

The Minister fully acknowledges the frustration of those who are impacted by the vacancies in primary care therapy services and agrees that much more needs to be done to address the gaps in staffing and the waiting lists for these services, including speech and language therapy. In that context, it is welcome news that progress has been made to fill this specific post in King’s Island Primary Care Centre. We are all very much aware that early intervention is crucial and I am glad to see that there is a pathway here with both a long-term solution and a short-term solution.

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