Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State for taking the time to speak about this serious issue. "What's seldom is wonderful." That is how one parent described the level of services his child with Down's syndrome has received. The tone in which he said it would break a stone heart.

In my constituency of Longford-Westmeath the Springfield Centre in Mullingar plays a critical role in the provision of these services. It is vital that the centre reopens for face-to-face therapy sessions. The families concerned have waited patiently for their turn for services to reopen since the pandemic arrived. From Friday, the reality is that they can bring their children to the cinema across the road from where they want to bring them and need to bring them, which is to the centre to get those vital services.

A little boy born in April with Down's syndrome has had one physiotherapy session. He has had no more, nothing else and no contact. Another child has had two sessions. More were promised but none were delivered. This feedback is common. It is not the exception to the rule; it is the rule. Parents are doing everything they can but they desperately need help now, and that help is difficult to get. They are no longer begging and pleading for services to reopen; they are shouting and roaring. That is the urgent nature of the need for their children to receive these services. Let us be honest. This is a damning indictment.

Covid-19 is not an excuse. The fact is that the level of these services pre-Covid was never fit for purpose. Any intention to return to that level of service provision will miss the needs of these children by a country mile. The parents want the services to reopen urgently and their children need the services to reopen urgently.

Schools can be open. In schools it is deemed safe for adults and children to be together for extended periods of time. Cinemas are open. We can now go shopping for our Christmas gifts. However, these parents still cannot have the essential services that their children need. It simply does not make sense.

What is more concerning is that it does not stop there. I received a call earlier this week regarding adults with Down's syndrome. They are part of a wider group of people requiring extra needs who are close to the same centre geographically. Every morning they used to be picked up by a bus. They learned new skills for independent living and in how to take care of themselves. Their interaction was social but also psychologically beneficial. The routine and structure for participants and the respite they afforded the carers were invaluable. However, the HSE has moved the Covid-19 testing site to where they were situated. They now have no home. They are operating out of two places in industrial estates on either side of the town. They have no access to materials, resources or their peers on a regular basis. The bus that picked them up has also stopped. Gone is the routine and the structure. It is sad and concerning that their families are reporting that the skills they learned while they were there are gone.

Everyone understands that the pandemic and Covid-19 take precedence. No one is disputing or arguing that fact. However, what could be, and is being, disputed is that the demands on these people have been disproportionate. Some members of society have sacrificed so much more and have lost access to so much more. These children and babies fall into that category. We are still asking the most vulnerable group in our society to make sacrifices.

It does not have to be like this. We are not in the early stages of Covid. We are almost a year into Covid. It should not be a choice between testing centres, provision of services, provision of therapies or support services for adults. Packaging things in that way is unconscionable.

The reality is that what has led us here is poor planning and decision-making. When will the Springfield Centre reopen to provide these vital therapies for children? Why were more suitable premises not found for the adult group?

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Clarke for raising this valuable issue and giving me the opportunity to speak on it.

Several weeks ago, I spoke about Offaly with Deputy Nolan. She raised the matter that evening. Deputy Clarke talks about the constituency of Longford-Westmeath. I talk about the community healthcare organisation area that covers Longford, Laois, Offaly, Westmeath, Louth and Meath. That is the size and magnitude of the area. I am putting it in context.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I understand the Deputy is referring to both occupational therapy services as well as speech and language therapy. It is not in my note but I assume Deputy Clarke is also referring to the Mullingar Resource Centre, MRC. Is that what she is talking about? I am abreast and across that in recent weeks.

I am glad to say that in the context of the Government's resilience and recovery framework, the provision of disability services is deemed essential. That only happened last September when they were planning to do it. Prior to that, disability services were not deemed an essential service, especially the first time we were locked down last March, unfortunately.

It goes without saying that all disability services must follow the public health guidelines in the area to ensure service users and staff are protected as much as possible. It is important to note that most children's disability services maintained a level of service and support for children and their families throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. This was based on prioritised need, available staff, family consent and was in line with the HSE guidelines. These services and supports were provided by way of phone or telehealth as a first option, advancing to direct face-to-face contact where telephone or online supports did not meet the child's needs.

Deputy Clarke has outlined some clear comprehensive examples where people could not do face-to-face interaction, including the case of a baby who was several weeks old. I am not here to defend the HSE and I will not defend the HSE, but I cannot quantify the wording in my script as a level of service. Clearly, we cannot quantify what Deputy Clarke was speaking about as any level of service.

To address the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, the HSE has redeployed staff across the five different counties to testing and contact tracing throughout the pandemic.

I have been raising this issue consistently with Paul Reid since 5 October. I have asked repeatedly for these therapists to be returned to their substantive work. This work is ongoing, but the HSE has committed to returning all these staff as its recruitment of community swabbers continues.

In the case of the Longford-Westmeath region specifically, the most important thing is that the local HSE services have advised me that the Springfield Centre in Westmeath is due to reopen next Monday and therapy services will resume on that date. I apologise that cinemas will be open before it, but at least we will have it opened. It has taken us until 8 December to get to this stage, but at least we have it opened and I thank Deputy Clarke for raising this question. I hope I am not getting a response because a Topical Issue matter was tabled regarding this issue. I would hate to think that we are reactionary to children's needs, as opposed to, as Deputy Clarke clearly stated earlier, being proactive and planning ahead. I will address the MRC in the next part of my answer.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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There is no doubt that what the Minister of State said will come as welcome news to the families that use the Springfield Centre. From personal experience, I can state no parent brings his or her child to that centre for the craic. People go because of established and proven needs. The Minister of State mentioned face-to-face or online meetings. One issue which has cropped up is that of parents being fobbed off with Zoom meetings. If the Minister of State will accept it, I will send her a copy of an email I got from one parent. This parent was fobbed off with a Zoom meeting in respect of sensory processing because he or she had kicked and screamed in frustration to highlight the needs of his or her son. That is insulting to the parents and highly disrespectful to the child, because that child does not have a sensory processing disorder and never did. This was well known and has been flagged.

Another issue which concerns me more in this regard is that the parents involved felt compelled to accept that Zoom meeting for fear of repercussions regarding the provision of further services down the line. The parents had that Zoom meeting, knowing full well it was going to be of zero benefit to their child. That is concerning considering that probably umpteen parents would probably have given their right arms to have that Zoom meeting. When we talk about the provision of services, particularly in this regard, meeting low standards is not something to be proud of.

These children, families and groups are our neighbours. They are in our communities and they deserve a hell of a lot more than what has been provided to date. Time is not something that is on the side of these children. We know the value and importance of early intervention, but that relies on delivery. Otherwise, it is wholly ineffective, just words on pages and sound bites, which have never delivered so much as half an hour of physiotherapy or occupational therapy. It is absolutely meaningless for them. The reality is that while there will be a vaccine for Covid-19, there is not, as one parent remarked, a vaccine for Down syndrome.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Clarke again. I am not one for sound bites at all. I am more a person of action in respect of understanding exactly what is going wrong behind the system. The Deputy is right in everything she said. I will not contradict one bit of it. I will talk about the MRC for one moment, however. I went to the MRC with the Ministers of State, Deputies Burke and Troy, in August and September. I met with parents, families and friends of the MRC. I was at the Bridge House and the Millennium House, I think, and I was out to the MRC building itself. On the day of my visit, I queried the fact that it was going to be used as a testing centre. That was contrary to what many parents had requested for the service users. I was told it was an essential service and led to believe that the building was not up to standard.

I met with officials from HSE CHO 8 three times regarding the MRC and I am due another update next week. I requested that meeting for the simple reason that if the building was good enough for service users prior to Covid-19, I am at a loss to understand why it is not good enough during Covid-19 when we have a shortage of capacity for service users and we are looking for space. I appreciate we are trying to move in new directions, but we have a shortage of space. The Minister of State, Deputy Troy, sourced the band hall to try to help with accommodation while works were going on in Bridge House.

To bring Deputy Clarke up to speed regarding the MRC, I have already organised another meeting which will take place next week. The head of CHO 8 is meeting me, along with different people in the Department and the HSE. That will be a complete and comprehensive meeting, and not a taking of the box exercise as carried out last May. I refer to the deeming of the building as unfit. That was a different meaning of the word "unfit" when compared with a description based on a proper score chart.