Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)

I welcome the proposals we have seen, which I believe went to the Cabinet today, to create nearly 500 new third level places in key health and social professions, including physiotherapy, occupational therapy and more. As I said, this is welcome because we all recognise the enormous shortfall in services. The concern remains that it will take years for these new places to generate more qualified people.

As my colleague, Deputy Sherlock, documented last week, children are currently waiting far too long to see a therapist. The number of children waiting more than a year to see a psychologist had risen to almost 11,000 at the end of last year, from just under 4,000 four years ago, while the number on speech and language therapy waiting lists have soared by 200%. There is a crisis in services and concerns regarding how long it takes CORU to recognise and register graduates with qualifications from abroad.

What can be done now to bridge this current urgent gap in services to ensure there will be enough therapists to see children who are on these waiting lists, languishing and awaiting crucial services?

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