Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Daly, to the Chamber. I was shocked last week when a parent described how one of her children who has autism has not been in receipt of speech therapy since September. A principal in the locality told me that the reality on the ground is that unless a parent or a family is willing to set aside the time to scream and shout at the top of their lungs, they will not get the requisite attention from the education or health systems that their children deserve. She made the point that given that sometimes families can be collapsing trying to meet the needs of their children, to expect them to campaign as well for the assistance they so greatly need is completely unrealistic, unnecessary and unfair.

We seem to have a system held together with straw. We still have an issue with maternity leave not being covered. Speech therapy is a patchwork of a service in the area that I am most familiar with in northside Dublin. I can only imagine what it is like around the country. What words of comfort would the Minister of State, Deputy Daly, have for the mother who spoke to me about her child, who has autism, and who has not been able to access speech therapy for her son since September?