Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister for her acknowledgement and honest assessment of the challenge facing many families whose children are waiting for an assessment of need. The issue of disability has activated many of us in this Chamber to become politicians. We have seen An Tánaiste and the likes of Cara Darmody all activated on the issue of disabilities. It is a key reason we are here today. Dublin Fingal West is home to one of the youngest populations in the country. Balbriggan is the youngest large town, as I may have mentioned before, and it is rapidly growing, yet the children in my area of north Dublin face an extraordinarily long waiting time for assessments of need. Almost 2,000 children in the north Dublin health area alone are awaiting an assessment of need. If there are 15,000 children on the waiting list nationally, my area, staggeringly, accounts for approximately 12% of the entire country. Given the length of time we all spend in this Chamber talking about this issue, as it is one of the top five queries we all receive, I think the Minister knows the system is broken. Because my area makes up 12% of the waiting list, she can imagine the number of queries I receive. Children living in Balbriggan, Skerries, Rush, Lusk and surrounding villages are not waiting months but years. The process simply is not working. This backlog is a combination of administrative failures, cumbersome assessment processes, a lack of resources and outdated legislation.

We need to remove the bureaucratic barriers, and I welcome the Minister's comments on better communication with parents. The assessment process is confusing and filled with administrative obstacles. To fix this, we need a simplified online application system; a clear roadmap outlining the process, timelines and next steps; a reduction in unnecessary paperwork; and a streamlining of internal processes. We also need to communicate clearly with families. We need a tracking system that communicates with them. I have lost count of the number of parents who have contacted me about accessing assessments of need or therapies. We need a real-time tracking system to assure these families that their request is progressing and so that they receive regular updates, instead of feeling ghosted by the system and chasing politicians for answers who are equally frustrated and ghosted.

Assessment delays also stem from staff shortages, particularly in specialties such as speech and language therapy, psychology and occupational therapy. We have to do more to grow the expertise we need in Ireland, as well as attracting the right people from abroad. The increase in therapy college places announced last year is welcome and the programme for Government commitment to double the places even more so. Will this doubling occur in September 2026 or will it be graduated over the lifetime of the Government? Is it enough? Has the Department run the numbers and projected the number of therapists needed to meet future demand? Will doubling the places satisfy this demand? Can the Minister assure us that this assessment has been carried out by the Department and that the doubling of the numbers will be enough?

We also need to make sure resources are prioritised and allocated based on demand and demographics. North Dublin, Balbriggan, Skerries, Rush, Lusk and the surrounding villages of Garristown, Naul, Ballyboughal, Oldtown and Rolestown, because of their demographics, constitute 12% of the national waiting list. It needs to be prioritised. We need to have the resources allocated to deal with the severe backlog of children waiting for an assessment of need and waiting for therapies. Please end the postcode lottery. These delays represent lost developmental opportunities for our children, frustrated families and children missing vital early interventions that really could help shape better futures for them. Please ensure that the children of Dublin Fingal West have ease of access to a fit-for-purpose, streamlined assessment of need process allied with receiving the appropriate therapies. This should not be a privilege dictated by geography.

See this speech in context