Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)

Like others, I acknowledge an incredibly brave and courageous young person at the gates of Leinster House when it is lashing rain - Cara Darmody. She is protesting outside not for herself but for her brothers and thousands of children throughout the country who are being denied timely assessments of supports. Cara's strength is extraordinary. Her message is one that we in this House must listen to. That message is that we are in an emergency. I also acknowledge my colleague, Councillor Donna Phelan, who, like so many parents, has been fighting for years just to get an assessment for her children. Donna's story is not unique. It is shared by too many families in Kildare North and throughout Ireland. We owe them more than sympathy. We owe them action.

During the general election and since, the issue of assessments has probably been the one that comes most frequently to my office, as it did when I was campaigning. Under the Disability Act 2005, every child is entitled to an assessment of need within six months, yet throughout the country more than 14,000 children are waiting beyond that legal limit. In Kildare North, families are waiting 18 months or more on average and the children's disability network team is operating with a 41% vacancy rate, which is a statistic that tells its own story. I appreciate that efforts are being made to open up more places at university and third level and to hire more people in this space. Early intervention is not a luxury; it is a necessity. Delay leads to more complex needs, more stress on families and more pressure on our system down the line. Indeed, the HSE is telling families to go to court to try to find a resolution to this. It is putting too much pressure on families.

I will offer two solutions that could work. I am looking at solutions rather than complaining about issues all the time. One solution is to establish a dedicated assessment hub or assessment hubs. We need specialised centres staffed by multidisciplinary teams with a singular focus on clearing the backlog and providing timely, high-quality assessments. This model has been piloted successfully in Scotland, particularly in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, where dedicated hubs help to reduce assessment waiting times for children with developmental needs by more than 50%. It is targeted, measurable and replicable. We could begin by piloting this in Kildare or another county where needs are demonstrably high. A second solution is to provide interim therapeutic access to those awaiting assessment. My colleague, Deputy O'Sullivan, mentioned something similar in Cork. Too many children are being denied any supports until the full process is complete but in the UK and parts of Australia, families can access early interventions, including speech and language therapy, OT or behavioural support, based on flagged preliminary needs. Let us not let bureaucracy get in the way of a child's development. Interim access would ease family pressure and reduce long-term need. When a GP sees a child with clear speech and language difficulties, we should be getting speech and language therapists for these children straight away and not wait for an assessment of need.

The Minister is new to her brief. She has taken to it and has worked diligently and extremely hard. This is an extremely difficult situation to be in. I commend the Minister on her action on this. I appreciate her co-operation with some of the suggestions that I will bring forward. I also acknowledge the investment made in recent years and the sincere efforts of this Minister, the previous Minister and HSE staff, who are under immense strain. However, good intentions are not enough. We now need structural changes that are fast, fair and family centred.

What we need to do more than anything is listen to families, parents and, more importantly, the children who are being impacted, some of whom are non-verbal. It is clear that we need to treat this as an emergency. It needs to be solutions based, for example, on the solutions I brought forward, but other groups and Deputies will bring solutions forward as well. By working in a collegial manner, trying not to politicise this for political gain and working with the Minister to the best of our abilities, we will be able to work not just on the backlog but ensure we are forward planning for children coming through the system in times to come.

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