Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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85. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of vacant-unfilled positions across each CDNT in the State; if she will provide the figures from the CDNT workforce report, carried out in October 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21200/25]

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I am looking for the figures on unfilled positions within each CDNT in the State. Obviously, we had the workforce report from last October and that has since been published. The big question concerns the numbers that were outstanding. At one time, it was almost 530 positions. Even if those positions are filled, are we able to provide the service that is required through the CDNT system?

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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A children’s disability network team workforce survey was conducted on 16 October 2024. This survey captured staffing levels across various disciplines and grades, providing a snapshot of the current workforce across the 93 CDNTs. While this report only provides us with a snapshot in time, with recruitment having continued in the interim, it is the most comprehensive workforce report we have on CDNTs.

The report was published on the HSE website earlier this year and is available to download. It indicated a wide disparity in the number of vacant and unfilled positions across the country, with the highest number in the Dublin and south east region at 144 unfilled whole-time equivalents. The number of vacancies in the Dublin and north east region, which was 125 whole-time equivalents, and the Dublin and midlands region, which was 112 whole-time equivalents, is also high. There were 65 unfilled WTEs in the south west region, 56 in the west and north west region and 26 in the mid-west region as of mid-October.

The HSE is currently using the data from this report to support focused recruitment and retention initiatives in the areas with the highest vacancy rates, taking learning and related actions from areas with lower levels of vacancies. The HSE has also advised that a survey for another CDNT workforce report is being undertaken and it expects the data to be available for that in the coming months.

It is important to acknowledge the progress that has been made in recent years regarding CDNT recruitment. The October data indicates that the CDNT workforce increased by 17% in 2024 when compared with the 2023 figure. This represents an additional 272 whole-time equivalent staff working across CDNTs. Within those on-boarded, the largest growth was in health and social care professionals, accounting for 204 of the 272 staff.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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We all welcome increased recruitment but the fact is that whatever the figures say, we have all been inundated with requests from parents who cannot get assessments or therapies for their children. We all know the issue. We have all had an over-and-back in regard to the fact school-based therapies could deal with some of this issue. However, if we look at the recruitment levels on the basis of how this happened last year, it would take at least two years at the same speed to fill the gaps and achieve a complete workforce. Again, that is only on the basis of the numbers that are set out at present. Given there will constantly be a need for these reports, we need to see real movement in this regard. Can the Minister give any sort of timeline for when those positions will be filled? Beyond that, if those positions are filled, will we be able to provide the correct service in regard to assessments of need and therapies for those children with autism and their parents?

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Significantly, the CDNT vacancy rate has reduced from 29% in 2023 to 22% in 2024, a reduction of 7% nationally. The Deputy is correct regarding recruitment and retention. A lot of work is happening in that space. In order to achieve the staffing level improvements seen in 2024 and fill those vacancies, there were intensive domestic and international recruitment efforts across the HSE and section 38 and 39 organisations to recruit and onboard staff. Recruitment efforts are being bolstered by optimising access to applicant pools through the opening up of HSE panels, HSE advertising streams and candidate pools, and also training places in higher education institutes, which have increased the number of clinical placements in children’s disability network teams. That serves to improve the recruitment of health and social care professionals into the CDNT teams. In addition, the HSE career hub has more than 38 registered applicants.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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We all know the issues with regard to recruitment and retention but we also know the absolute need that is out there and the abject failure there has been for many years, which continues at this point in time. Everyone would say it is beyond doubt that we need to engage in domestic and international initiatives, and we should be looking at every sort of pipeline to ensure we can get as many highly trained OTs, SLTs, psychologists and other specialists as possible. This would ensure we could deliver everything from assessments, even if at times it meant we had to look at the method by which we carried out assessments, right through the system to provide fit-for-purpose therapies.

However, there is a particular issue as to how we deliver this. I will ask the question again: if we fill all of these positions, will we be able to offer the service that we need to offer on the basis of the need? We need to get real about school-based therapies. Has there been much engagement with the Minister for Education on delivering something across the board that is fit for purpose?

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I will start with the last part of the question. We are working on a national disability strategy, which will be published before the summer recess. A high level of engagement is happening right across Government with my Cabinet colleagues, including the Minister, Deputy Foley, the Minister for Education, the Minister for Health, the Minister for Social Protection and the Minister for Transport. When talking about disability, it affects every single Department and the ambition will be high within that strategy. I want to say that at the outset.

Recruitment and retention is only part of it. The Deputy talked about therapists in schools, having them in our special schools and rolling that out to special classes in mainstream schools as part of the solution. We will also need to up recruitment at a domestic level. Looking at other things, in respect of higher education, as I said, an extra 150 therapists have been going through our third level system since last September. We are also looking at outreach to secondary schools and other ways we can upskill people from other disciplines.