Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)

I asked the Tánaiste whether he would confirm what the Taoiseach said last week, which was that there had been indecision from the Government on this and that it could not agree over the past three years. I believe he implied in his answer that the Government had not been able to agree what to do. He is saying there need to be reforms to legislation but it is three years since the High Court judgment. That judgment was very good in terms of vindicating the rights of children with disabilities and additional needs. If it is the Government's intention to reform legislation, why has it taken so long to even decide what to do? This crisis is getting worse and worse by the day, creating significant stress. Yes, there are vacant posts on children's disability network teams but these teams have also been hit by the number of places they have being capped. Teams that used to have eight or ten people are being told that they are now down to two people and will stay at two people. The remaining people on those teams are saying that they cannot possibly cope with the workload and are asking how they can continue to do this. This has done significant damage when it comes to retaining staff and recruiting staff to fill vacant posts. When is the Government going to get a grip on this? When is it going to make decisions? When will it act? Will the Tánaiste confirm what the Taoiseach said, namely, that the Government had been unable to agree what to do for the past three years?

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