Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I raise this matter because of the appalling treatment received by a little five-year-old boy in my constituency, who is in urgent need of speech and language therapy. Speech and language therapy is like life blood to persons who are speech or language impaired since verbal communication is the essence of modern life. This therapy is as essential to a speech or language-impaired person as a wheelchair is to someone who is mobility-impaired. Effective verbal communication will enable a person to make a positive contribution to society and live a normal life. This child was placed on a waiting list for assessment, which transpired to be over a period of 12 months. After waiting for 12 months, the child was assessed and was rated as being in "critical" need of services. From this assessment, one would imagine that the child would be placed at or near the top of a priority list for treatment. The parents have been informed that the child faces a minimum further 12 months on a waiting list before he can have access to speech and language therapy.

What a sad and shameful commentary on the level of speech and language therapy services available in this country eight years into the 21st century. This matter got some national coverage and, since I raised it, a number of parents around the country have been in touch with me. Nothing has changed since I first raised this issue in the Dáil a quarter of a century ago in a similar case when I described speech and language therapy services then as "dire" and "in the Dark Ages".

Back then, just 25 speech and language therapists were graduating annually from the College of Speech and Language Therapy — barely enough to cover retirements. The number of speech and language therapists in the country then was around 85, less than a quarter of the minimum optimum figure recommended by the Quirk report 10 years earlier in 1975, 33 years ago.

Let us fast-forward to 2002, when the Bacon report recommended that the annual output of 25 be increased fourfold to 100 in an attempt to make some impact on the waiting lists. To his credit, the then Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Micheál Martin, committed to increasing the annual number of graduates to 100, as Bacon had recommended. One would think this was signalling a new era for all those persons who had spent years in some cases on waiting lists for this vital service. Unfortunately, when the first graduates came on stream and were available for appointment, they were turned down due to lack of experience. How were they expected to gain the necessary experience except by being initially appointed to posts which had not been created? The problem was that we trained people but did not create the posts. The policy was so pig-headed and illogical that one wonders how people can seriously cook up such facile impediments to the provision of an essential service to persons in grave need of treatment.

The earliest possible intervention for children with speech and language disorders is crucial, since it can preclude the need for infinitely more costly intervention at a later stage, perhaps when the persons are in their teens or older.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Hear, hear.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I have had practical experience of children who failed to receive this essential service. Between the Departments of Education and Science and Health and Children, it is a scandal that we have gone through the so-called Celtic tiger while young, unfortunate children are left impaired because of the lack of commitment by the State to co-ordinate a service essential to young people whether in schools or outside.

I will continue to raise this matter for as long as God gives me the health to remain in this House. I first raised the issue 25 years ago about a particular individual whose parents were told that their child was mentally handicapped and that they should put him in an institution and have another baby. Today that young man is a qualified architect. When I think back I wonder how many unfortunate young people were cast into mental institutions, as they were then known, and are still there today who only needed psychological and speech therapy to lead normal lives. I shudder to think how many people were left in that situation.

I have given a practical example from 25 years ago and if the Minister of State, Deputy Devins, wishes to accompany me, I will be only too happy to introduce him to the parents of that man who is now a fully qualified architect, contributing to this society and to the health services through his taxes. Something must be done immediately. The Minister of State should examine what is currently being done in Northern Ireland and Scotland. We should be ashamed of ourselves.

Jimmy Devins (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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I am dealing with this issue on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The Minister was here less than five minutes ago but could not wait to deal with this matter. It is a disgrace.

Jimmy Devins (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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I am pleased to take this opportunity to address the important issues raised by the Deputy. I wish to emphasise the Government's commitment to providing a high quality service to all people with a disability. This commitment is illustrated by the substantial investment we have been making in disability services over the last number of years.

The National Disability Strategy, which was launched in September 2004, reinforces equal participation in society of people with disabilities and provides for a framework of new supports for people with disabilities. This programme, together with the enhancement of other key support services, are key factors in building the additional capacity required to ensure that services best meet identified needs.

The strategy builds on a strong equality framework, which is reflected in equality legislation. It puts the policy of mainstreaming of public services for people with disabilities on a clear legal footing. The main elements of the strategy are the Disability Act 2005, the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004, sectoral plans published in 2006 by six Departments, the Citizens Information Act 2007 and the multi-annual investment programme for disability support services for the period 2006-2009.

In launching the national disability strategy, the Taoiseach also announced the Government's commitment to a multi-annual investment for disability-specific services over a five year period. To the end of 2007, €420 million, in revenue and capital, has been allocated to services for people with disabilities since the launch of the strategy in 2004.

Additional revenue funding of €50 million was provided in the 2008 budget in respect of the multi-annual investment package. This funding is to meet the costs associated with a range of elements in the multi-annual investment programme. The additional funding will continue to provide a base line to considerably enhance the multi-disciplinary support services for people with disabilities, in line with the Government's commitment to build capacity within the health services and to deliver on the various legislative provisions contained in the national disability strategy.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I ask the Minister of State to give way momentarily. I raised the issue of speech and language therapy. I do not want to hear about a general programme or strategy.

Jimmy Devins (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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The Health Service Executive, which has statutory responsibility for the provision of services to individuals, states that it recognises that waiting lists exist for many services. It is a reality that these lists are managed in different ways by different services. Therapies divide their waiting lists into priority categories so that immediate need is first dealt with, followed by urgent need, and finally all other needs. Some therapies further divide their waiting lists into assessment and treatment.

The management of waiting lists is an issue for the HSE to address. Nevertheless, my Department is concerned about the lack of consistency in how waiting lists are managed as, in addition, each voluntary agency holds their own waiting list so it is very difficult to get a clear picture of waiting lists for services. However, I understand that in relation to therapy services, clinicians manage and review these lists regularly.

In the period 2005 to 2007, the Department provided funding to the HSE for the employment of multi-disciplinary supports and other staff in the context of the implementation of the Disability and Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Acts. A total of 446 posts were approved in the areas of speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, psychology, physiotherapy and social work between the HSE and voluntary service providers. The HSE states that the majority of these posts were identified as required to provide the assessments and ongoing service interventions arising from the commencement of the Disability Act.

It continues to be a challenge to fill these important posts, which inevitably contributes to the development of waiting lists. The HSE has advised the Department that it is currently finalising plans for a co-ordinated recruitment process in each region, in addition to recruitment abroad for senior therapists over the next number of months, to fill the remaining posts. The filling of these key posts will help to address the waiting lists of the kind raised by the Deputy.

I understand the HSE has explained the situation in relation to the individual case raised by the Deputy and that it will continue to do all it can to provide services to those assessed as in need of them.