Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

My information indicates that the independent review has been commenced by the National Disability Authority. The Minister of State might confirm in her answer if that is the case. The figures I have seen as to what is happening in the CDNTs are absolutely shocking. They are unbelievable. In 2023 there were 817 vacancies in CDNTs across the country. In CHO 1 there has been a drop-off of 22% in therapy hours in the space of a year. Some 44% of CDNT posts in the HSE are vacant at the moment. Some 43% of psychologist posts are vacant at the moment, 62% in CHO 1 and 59% in CHO 5. That is a failure on a monumental scale when we see that the majority of those posts are empty. In my constituency I have seen children waiting for 14 months to get onto CDNTs and some cases where children are being bounced between CAMHS, CDNTs and therapy services without ever ending up on a waiting list at all. The Minister of State has to agree that this is outrageous.

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