Ciarán Ahern (Dublin South West, Labour)

I begin by paying tribute, as others have done, to Cara Darmody. A 14-year-old obviously should not need to be such an ardent campaigner for autism supports and services but she is an incredible one and it was a pleasure to meet her and give her my support outside the gates of Leinster House this morning. Nearly everyday, like everyone here, I am contacted by parents in my constituency who either cannot get an assessment of needs for their child or, if they have got one, cannot get the necessary therapeutic supports. As we have spoken about, there are now over 15,000 children waiting for an assessment of needs in Ireland. Some 10% of those are in my own constituency of Dublin South-West. That is over 1,500 children; the third highest number in the country. Too many of the parents I speak to have had to fork out hundreds of euros for private assessments because they cannot wait any longer. They are the lucky ones. Many other parents just cannot afford to go private. This is not a new problem, but it is getting worse. Two years ago my colleague, Deputy Duncan Smith, brought forward a motion calling for reimbursement for families forced to go private for assessment and therapies. The then Minister of State, Anne Rabbitte, said at the time that she had made a proposal to the HSE where she wanted a minimum of six regional assessment units stood up and that if that was not done by 1 August that year - two years ago - she would take to budget what the Labour Party had suggested which was to fund the families. Those assessment units still have not been rolled out and the Minister reneged on the commitment to take our Labour Party proposals to budget. Since then the issue, the backlog and the wait times have only got worse.

The victims of this Government inaction ultimately are vulnerable children in need of support. It is nowhere near good enough. The same can be said in terms of the actual supports available. Speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and physios are all virtually absent in Dublin South-West and in many other parts of the country. I recently visited the Ballyboden primary healthcare centre in my constituency that previously had five speech and language therapists in 2022. It now only has one working part time and is having huge difficulties in hiring due to the pay and numbers strategy. We are seeing significant issues in our special schools as well. The Libermann Spiritan School in Templeogue, for example, is opening two new classes in September which is certainly welcome.

However, the much-needed therapeutic supports available in the school will remain the same which means the actual services being provided to the students in that school are being diluted. St. Kevin's Girls' School in Kilnamanagh is facing another issue. Enrolment in the school has dropped by just five students for next year, so they are losing a teacher from their allocation and being forced to merge two classes. This will result in a single class of almost 35 students, including children with autism. What will that do to the development of these children from a social and educational perspective and in terms of the management of the SNA resources? Teachers and SNAs are already at breaking point. This cannot be allowed to go ahead. The school should have its teacher allocation restored and I will ask the Minister for education to intervene here.

We are all aware of the importance of early intervention, and it has been mentioned repeatedly today, in giving children with autism or other complex needs the best chance to live fulfilling and dignified lives and independent lives insofar as possible. That opportunity is being withheld from so many children in my constituency and all over the country. We want fewer promises from the Government and more action.

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