Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

This Government is adamant it will deal with that aspect. It is only one aspect, one strand of it. It needs to be looked at because there needs to be a framework that allows therapists to intervene more quickly in providing services to children. An assessment of need, by the way, is not a static thing nor should it be. As a child develops, the child needs ongoing review. That is why the Government has already taken a decision to have a national in-school therapy service, something I campaigned for during the election and said would be a red line for me in the programme for Government. Our partners in government, the Fine Gael Party and the Independents, are fully aligned to that objective and the Minister for education, Deputy Helen McEntee, has initiated that process for a national in-school therapy service starting in the special schools, which is absolutely essential.

We are increasing the level of assessments but we need more than the approximately 20% increase that happened last year. We need to recruit more therapists and we will also do that. We need to engage with CORU on faster recognition of qualifications for those who come in from overseas to work in our services as therapists. Far more flexibility is required there to supplement and add to the therapists who will come through our colleges. We will also increase the places in third level colleges, but all of that takes some time and we will be procuring additional capacity from the private sector.

There is a fundamental point about ensuring there is early intervention with children by therapists, and then a problem arises. If every therapist is going to spend 90 hours assessing children, there will be precious little resource for actual intervention. We need to get that balance right. That is something on which the Government is focusing and something we need to work on in respect of the legislative provision. We have asked for ideas and proposals around that.

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