James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)

First, I recognise Cara Darmody. I met her when I was the Lord Mayor of Dublin. I brought her into the Mansion House as part of our initiative to make Dublin the world’s first autism-friendly capital city. Cara is a determined and brave person. I absolutely lament the fact she feels she has to sleep outside the Dáil for the next 50 hours in order to highlight one of the biggest challenges we have in this State when it comes to the delivery of disability services, that is, the assessment of need process.

It is important to highlight the areas in which the State has delivered improvements when it comes to supporting children with needs. For children in a preschool setting, there is an access and inclusion model, AIM, programme. It supports staff to identify need and then be supported by that AIM programme in order to ensure that, where a need is identified, the appropriate services are provided. In primary school settings, we have tooled up our schools with SNAs, increased the number of autism-friendly and special classes in schools and also increased the number of special schools. There is so much more to do to ensure every child of every need, irrespective of whether they have an assessment of need, is getting the type of education they require. There is so much more to do. Significant changes have also been made in the access to, and delivery of, third level education.

The law as it relates to assessment of need simply is not working. It is a law that is being broken 94% of the time, based on figures the HSE has produced. That is not good for anyone. The Minister highlighted an important factor in her statement before this House, namely, the importance of parents knowing what services are available to them, with or without an assessment of need. That does not dilute, however, the absolute need to get this right as a State to ensure every child’s pathway is an appropriate one and that we have identified the level of need every child requires.

Equally, in the context of the systems and the moments when children interact with the State, such as with their public health nurse in their developmental checks, for example, how can we improve the pathways direct from that check into the supports that child needs? How can we improve the pathways of services for a child who has been identified with a need in a preschool setting? How can we support primary schools and secondary schools where needs have been identified? I refer to the initiative of the Minister, Deputy Helen McEntee, of prioritising therapeutic services with a direct delivery in schools. Programmes the NCSE already delivers in schools are making a big difference. One of the big differences that delivering direct therapeutic services in schools can make is it can reduce the pressure on SNAs and teaching staff because children get the services they need to support them through their education pathways. Similar approaches need to be adopted, not just in special schools, where projects are being piloted, and in the programme for Government where we have made clear commitments, but also in mainstream schools. We do not wish to arrive at a situation where, in order to get services, parents are trying to, perhaps, find a setting for their child that may not be the appropriate one but where they know they will get the necessary supports.

As a State, we must support all of those parent support groups that every one of us deal with both inside and outside of this House as constituency TDs. They support children in their locality. Groups in my constituency, such as Involve Autism in Dublin 6 west, Neurodiversity Ireland and Neurodiversity Irishtown, Ringsend and Pearse Street, do extraordinary work on their own. Perhaps there are better ways in which the State can support them in the work they do to support children.

I absolutely support Cara Darmody and what she is doing. She is a determined young lady who has already done too much in terms of what she should be doing as a child. So many parents of children with needs are similarly out there campaigning all the time. We need to deliver the services to which every child in this State has an entitlement. The Minister is committed to improving how we deliver the assessment of need process. I welcome the announcement she has made with regard to the domiciliary care allowance. I ask that increased flexibility be afforded to the whole method by which the domiciliary care allowance is awarded because we all deal with parents who have been refused that domiciliary care allowance on the first point of entry and are subsequently awarded it on a later appeal.

However, the bills have been mounting due to spending money on private SLTs and OTs.

Recruitment is going to be absolutely key here. Replies given to me about how many OTs and SLTs we have recruited from abroad, which are based on employment permits issued, indicate the figures are extremely low. That is an area in which we could do an awful lot better. Of course we must invest in the long term in delivering more OTs from our college and third level system, but in the short term, similar to what we have done in maternity services, there must be a better way in which the State can try to recruit a larger number of OTs and SLTs to deliver direct therapeutic services in schools and support all the needs of children.

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