Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)

I welcome Cara and her dad, Mark, to the Public Gallery, as many of my colleagues on these benches have. When Cara walked in to Leinster House today, I noticed that she passed a painting of Countess Markievicz and busts of Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese, women who have left indelible marks on this State. Cara’s name is up there with those great women who have left an indelible mark on this State. I honestly mean that. I wish that was not the case, however. A 14-year-old child should be at home meeting her friends, watching television, playing video games and going out and living her childhood rather than having to sit or stand outside this House to get what she needs as a child and for her brothers. It is an absolute disgrace that we are here in this House and we have 15,000 children - our sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, godchildren and grandchildren - waiting because of this Nixon-esque Government. When the law does not suit the Government, it changes it. That is what Richard Nixon said. He said that when the President does it, it is not illegal. That is whom the Government is learning from. This Government wants to break the law yet again. I am sorry for getting emotional.

Laws are being broken. More than 4,000 assessments were carried out last year. That is not progress; it is failure. These are not statistics but, rather, children - children with speech delays and children who cannot walk. These are children who are locked out of the supports to meet their needs and allow them to have a full life, a life of dignity. This State is breaking its own law and, in doing so, it is breaking the trust of every family waiting in hope and despair. Many of those families have been in my office, on the phone to me or breaking the hearts of my staff. I spoke on the phone to one mother from Tipperary who told me that she is financing the special needs education unit in the school. She is paying for the training of the teacher because that teacher, who was put in place by this Government, has no training whatsoever when it comes to special needs. She is paying for the language therapy for that school in order that her child can be helped.

We in Independent Ireland are calling on the Government to act urgently, honestly and effectively. We ask the Government: first, to fund the Cara fund immediately to clear the backlog now rather than in six months or by the next budget; second, to set without delay a national emergency of real public targets to comply and complete within the six-month timeframe the legislation requires; third, to deliver a workforce plan to recruit and retain specialists we are so badly lacking, be they speech therapists, psychologists, physiotherapists or behavioural teams; and finally, to fund the therapies and school places of these children who do not thrive.

This is about more than legislation. It is about justice, decency and whether we are a Republic that stands by those who need us most or a Republic which turns away and uses the excuse of red tape. We cannot call ourselves a country of prosperity if thousands of those children are left behind. We cannot call ourselves a nation of fairness while knowingly delaying our children’s future. I ask this House and the Government to please invest in the future and not to leave our children behind. It is the only legacy we have in this House and the legacy going forward. It is with shame I stand here while we have to have this debate in the House.

See this speech in context