Máire Devine (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

I welcome Mark and his family here. The family named her well as her name is Cara, a friend, and she has become a true friend to not just her brothers but to many in this country hoping for change and the delivery of care that the Government has failed to do. It has failed the children in my constituency and across this nation. It is a clear breach of the Disability Act and more than 15,000 children have overdue assessments. The Government has had 20 years to correct this but all we get are phrases like "we look to", "we endeavour", "we should" and "we plan" ad nauseam. Over 20 years, I am sure it might be a bit tired of saying the same things again but not tired enough to deliver change.

My constituents regularly contact me with frustration and anxiety over severely delayed assessments of need for their children. The HSE and the disability services are under so much pressure that it is impossible to complete assessments within the legally-mandated six month period. It takes more than 12 months before an assessment even gets to the desk of a clinical psychologist in the children's disability network. There is not enough trained staff on these teams to do the assessment and most assessments of need are outsourced privately at a cost to taxpayers. Tightening the deadlines further will just mean more pressure on staff, more outsourcing, further clogging of courts and no services. This is what is so gravely wrong with assessments of need. There is a law but no resources to implement it and perhaps not the determination.

Disability services need a complete overhaul. We must address the disconnect between CAMHS and disability in all. I want the Government to take Cara's fund seriously.

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