Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas le Páirtí an Lucht Oibre as ucht an rúin seo. Is rún maith é agus is mian liom tacaíocht a thabhairt dó.

I want to raise a couple of serious issues that are affecting both carers and people with disabilities. The children's disability service grant was announced with great fanfare by the then Minister of State, Anne Rabbitte, in October 2023. This grant was to urgently provide services and therapies for children and was to be allocated within weeks. We were told that 52 organisations around the country would benefit from this fund. The Tánaiste confirmed today that applications worth €8 million were signed off by the HSE, but the money went nowhere. That is an absolute scandal. It is absolutely incredible that any government could be so harsh and hurtful in terms of badly needed funds.

In recent weeks, I have been made aware of a huge issue facing children with disabilities who are being treated at primary care centres around the country. It would appear it is now the norm for supports for children being referred from primary care to their local CDNT to drop off a cliff as soon as that referral occurs. It does not happen when they actually get the service from the CDNT but when the referral starts. This leaves children in limbo without the services they need, and many of them unfortunately regress as a result.

Another scandal we in Aontú uncovered was the issue of disability allowance. Data we received showed that 68% of people who appealed Department of Social Protection decisions to refuse the disability allowance were successful in their appeals. This means that of the 58,000 appeals against Department decisions on disability allowance in the past ten years, 40,000 were subsequently granted. The State told 40,000 people they were not entitled to the disability allowance and then turned around and said they actually were entitled to it. What does that mean for the large number of people who appealed, were refused and then left it at that? I refer to those who did not go back and appeal it in the end. I believe there should be a full audit of all these cases to see if people were entitled to that disability allowance. If they were, they need to be paid back to the date they applied in the first place.

Another issue affecting people - I got this information in the past 24 hours - is the level of vacancies in CDNTs across the country. It is incredible that at present, there are 817 vacancies in CDNTs across the country. In CHO 1 - Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan, Leitrim and Sligo - there has been a fall of 22% in therapy hours in the space of a year. The HSE is one of the biggest employers of CDNT staff. Some 44% of those positions are currently vacant and 43% of all psychologist posts are also currently vacant. That is an incredible figure. The equivalent figures in CHO 1 and CHO 5 are 62% and 59%. If the Government is not going to employ psychologists, psychiatrists and staff in local areas for children with disabilities who need supports, they will not get those supports. If they do not get supports, they will not get the help they need to reach their potential. In many cases, you will have situations where life will become incredibly difficult for them and their carers. It is an absolute scandal that in some cases, the majority of posts that need to be staffed in these services are vacant, and that must change.

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