Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)

I begin by also paying tribute to Cara Darmody, who is here in the Public Gallery with her dad Mark. At 14 years of age, she has made a really valuable contribution to the debate around assessment of need and to the reality of the difficulties that individuals and families face when it comes to accessing autism and disability supports. She has been a voice for children and for parents, and I want to take this opportunity to say "thank you" to Cara.

Last week, the HSE provided me with the latest waiting list figures for assessments of need. It has now hit a record 15,296 children, and this figure is only going in one direction. In fact, the HSE itself says it anticipates that it will reach almost 25,000 children by the end of this year, only a short number of months away. These children have not had their legal entitlement met, and they should have had their assessment of need within six months. Of course, we all know the impact this has on a child, particularly when it comes to accessing supports at school, and we all hear from parents who are put in an impossible situation where schools are almost hamstrung when it comes to providing the supports and services that child will need. When you are a child, every day counts.

I sat here for most of the almost three hours when we had statements, and I listened to Government TD after Government TD. You would be blown away by some of the statements made with respect to how awful and terrible the situation is. The waiting list has been more or less growing since 2010, and when you look back at the record of the Dáil, issues have been raised consistently since then in terms of alarm and concern for the waiting list as it continued to grow. Fine Gael has been in government for 14 years; Fianna Fáil has either been supporting or in government for ten. This is not an issue that has arisen overnight. It has continued consistently. With regard to every single action taken by Government, and there have not been many, bar Cara's fund, which I would give credit for, none of the actions taken to date have worked. They have not had an impact on the waiting list, and the figures are there and show that. No matter how many times the Government lauds the number of special classes, the private capacity going in, the money and the investment, it is not having the impact we need to see. Parents are very much at the end of their tether.

The bottom line on this issue is we do not have the people to do the job. We do not have the people to do the assessments of need and we do not have the people when it comes to the therapies. I heard from one young person in my constituency in March. She did her degree in Galway and then tried to get a place on the master's course to become a speech and language therapist. She applied to the University of Limerick. There is a HPAT exam, which costs €160 a pop, with an approximate intake of 30 students, but she was unsuccessful twice due to the competitive nature that is there. She went to Scotland and has been home for ten months. She is a fully qualified speech and language therapist and she is waiting on CORU registration. In her own words, she said:

It is now the case that I am home almost ten months willing and ready to work yet I cannot obtain employment as a speech and language therapist due to the length of the recognition process. My application is only in stage one and I am told it will take at least four months.

She understands that a quicker process has been put in place for occupational therapy, but it has not been for speech and language therapy. We are crying out for therapists. Her master's was done in Scotland, not in Mozambique, yet she is sitting at home and cannot take up a job as a therapist that we so desperately need. Then we wonder why people are not coming home, or are not able to come home or take up a position here. They are going abroad instead, and it is people abroad who are getting the benefit of them.

I might highlight two points the Minister made in her earlier remarks. One was in regard to the €10 million in funding that has been delivered by the Government this year, which the Minister says will deliver 2,850 assessments of need, and she is confident this initiative will continue to support and deliver for these children. We are looking at almost 25,000 children by the end of the year. I would say 2,850 assessments of need is a drop in the ocean. We need to look at that level of funding. The €10 million sum is nowhere near enough, looking at 2,850 assessments of need.

The Minister went on to say we cannot rely on the private sector indefinitely, and of course we cannot. We would not be relying on it at all if capacity had been put in to the public sector, but it has not been. That is the Government's failure, and that is why it now needs to look at increased funding to ensure that all of those 15,296 children and rising get the assessments of need they deserve, are entitled to and are legally required to receive within six months. I would say we are not over-reliant in any way, shape or form on the private sector. We need more of it. It is a pity that we do, but that is the position the Government has brought us to. That is the situation we are in.

Cara Darmody's ask is very clear. Fund Cara's fund, make the money available, and ensure that every one of those children gets the assessment of need they deserve to meet their potential, for them, their parents and their families.

See this speech in context