Results 241-260 of 8,919 for speaker:Hildegarde Naughton

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disabilities Assessments (25 Feb 2025)

Hildegarde Naughton: I agree with the Deputy that more needs to be done. That is an absolute commitment from me, as Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities, and the Government, to look at whatever we can do to make sure that children are getting their therapies. Also, as the Deputy knows, CHO 9 is composed of local health offices of north Dublin, Dublin north centre and north-west Dublin. Some...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disabilities Assessments (25 Feb 2025)

Hildegarde Naughton: The current delays in accessing assessments of need as well as therapy services are acknowledged and work is ongoing with the HSE to maximise the capacity of CDNTs to deliver therapy interventions to children and to produce assessments of need. This is being done via recruitment campaigns and other measures. In October 2023, the HSE published a roadmap for service improvement that...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (25 Feb 2025)

Hildegarde Naughton: As the Deputy knows, we have the pilot of in-school therapists in Dublin, Cork and Galway being rolled out. He is absolutely correct about recruitment and the need to ensure we are recruiting. We have recruitment efforts across the HSE, section 38 and section 39 organisations to on-board staff and have sustained outreach and engagement, for example, with secondary schools and higher...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (25 Feb 2025)

Hildegarde Naughton: I thank the Deputy. I absolutely agree that the school inclusion model has been a real success. I will come back with the figures. It is my understanding that there are about 500 vacancies but I will revert to the Deputy just in case that number has been updated. My door is open in relation to meeting therapists. I have been engaging with service providers, service users and stakeholders...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Childcare Services (25 Feb 2025)

Hildegarde Naughton: That is not Question No. 122. Is that an additional question?

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (25 Feb 2025)

Hildegarde Naughton: A CDNT 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 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. It is expected that...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (25 Feb 2025)

Hildegarde Naughton: The HSE and lead agencies are experiencing ongoing challenges recruiting to maximum capacity in the disability sector. These challenges are reflective of issues affecting the wider health and social care sector and are impacting the ability of the HSE and disability service providers to deliver on their vital work. Ensuring that the disability sector is fully resourced is a key priority of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (25 Feb 2025)

Hildegarde Naughton: I thank the Deputy, who has raised valid issues. We are supporting practice education in CDNTs. There is a student sponsorship programme. There is also an initiative whereby four years of salary are paid to new graduates over five years to support a gap year in the fifth year. We also have the development of apprenticeship programmes. At national level in response to the challenges, we...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (25 Feb 2025)

Hildegarde Naughton: I thank the Deputies for their questions. Have we moved on to Question No. 121 in the name of Deputy Ó Murchú?

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (25 Feb 2025)

Hildegarde Naughton: A children’s disability network team workforce survey was conducted on 16 October 2024. This survey captured staffing levels across various disciplines and grades-----

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (25 Feb 2025)

Hildegarde Naughton: I thank Deputy Ó Murchú. I thought that was what it was. My apologies.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (25 Feb 2025)

Hildegarde Naughton: That is okay. It is good confusion. I thought we had moved on to the next question.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (25 Feb 2025)

Hildegarde Naughton: That is good. It keeps me on my toes.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (25 Feb 2025)

Hildegarde Naughton: No, the Minister is fine. I thank Deputies Ward and Ó Murchú for their questions. The question is on recruitment and retention of our staff, including therapists in our voluntary and community sectors. We are doing everything to make sure pay is fair. This is why there was a call to the WRC. The Minister, Deputy Foley, and I have brought a memo to Cabinet welcoming the talks...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (25 Feb 2025)

Hildegarde Naughton: In regard to early intervention, it is worth noting that in education, the access and inclusion model, AIM, is in place to support children with additional needs to access and meaningfully participate in early learning and childcare by providing universal supports to preschool settings generally and targeted supports based on the needs of the individual without requiring a diagnosis. The...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (25 Feb 2025)

Hildegarde Naughton: I thank Deputy Farrelly for his support in this regard. My door is open as well if there are any good ideas. We do not have the monopoly on solutions and my door is fully open in that regard. This is about ongoing recruitment. We have also been looking at what else we can do. There may be people working in other disciplines within the health sector who want to become therapists and...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (25 Feb 2025)

Hildegarde Naughton: The Government recognises that waiting lists for assessments of need are far too long and have a significant impact on the needs of children and their families. It should be noted that children who require services from a children's disability network team, CDNT, do not require a diagnosis or a statutory assessment of need, AON. However, it is a fact that demand for AONs has increased...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (25 Feb 2025)

Hildegarde Naughton: The Deputy is entirely correct about the stress, frustration, worry and anger of parents out there, and I absolutely acknowledge this point. They want access to therapies for their children. In many cases, they also want a diagnosis. There is a combination of reasons why people look for assessments of need. I absolutely accept that. The administrative hubs are in CHOs 1, 4, 5, 7 and...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (25 Feb 2025)

Hildegarde Naughton: I will certainly follow up with the HSE on that issue. What we want to do here is ensure that children and others with disabilities, including adults, are getting the therapies and services they need and require. That is my focus, that of the Minister, Deputy Foley, and of the Government. I refer to ensuring that we have the services and therapies required, be they occupational therapists,...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (25 Feb 2025)

Hildegarde Naughton: I thank the Deputy for his question. The Government is committed to providing early intervention services to children with disabilities and their families as referenced in the programme for Government. A total of €3.2 billion has been allocated for disability services in budget 2025. This is an 11.6% increase on 2024 and represents an overall increase since 2020 of €1.2...