Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach. At the outset I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, to the House and I acknowledge her ambition and that of her Department. That is why I feel confident that we will get results from this discussion. I also acknowledge her recent visit to my own constituency.

I propose to address this issue, in the first instance, by moving from the more particular standpoint to the more general. I met an informal group of parents in Cavan recently, all of whom were parents of children with disabilities and they made a number of points to me. I will deal with those and will then deal with the broader objective evidence. That is not to suggest that these initial points are not also objective but I will deal with the other issues then. One’s heart would be moved by meeting these parents as they are very good people who are concerned for their children and, in some instances, are very distraught. I spent a good two hours with them. It was a very moving experience and it would be a disgrace if I was not doing what I am doing now.

Their first point was that for an initial appointment with Enable Ireland one could be waiting anywhere from six months to two years. The younger children are seen more quickly in respect of an assessment of needs and are prioritised. However, if one has an older child in the new progressing disability services for children and young people programme, one could be waiting for three years for any intervention if that child has received a private diagnosis. The parents made the point, which I distinctly remember, that there was a particular problem if one has had a private diagnosis done, where one might not then get an assessment of needs. That would be bizarre.

There is no clear pathway apart from an assessment of needs in order to get the services. One of the parents said to me that their non-speaking child is waiting nearly three years for a psychology assessment and that their other son is waiting four years in primary care for autism spectrum disorder and occupational therapist assessments. The child should be seen within three months for initial paperwork and a complete diagnosis should take from six to nine months, if they have the necessary paperwork, for an assessment of needs.The parents referenced that a pay gap of €3,000 to €5,000 exists between those who work in Enable Ireland and the voluntary services, though I know they are section 39 organisations funded by the State, and those in the mainstream HSE, in primary care centres and so on. The pay anomaly is huge. We referenced it at a health committee meeting but I want to hear about it today. Under the Haddington Road agreement, Enable Ireland staff are paid less than HSE staff. A new deal was sorted for HSE staff but Enable Ireland did not receive the same, as per the manager in Enable Ireland. Enable Ireland staff do not have the same maternity leave and pension contracts and it blames HSE funding for lack of recruitment. It states there is a lack of recruitment and there should be international recruitment. It blames the HSE for that. The day the Minister of State was with us in Cavan, this and some of the other points came up. The HSE takes months to approve advertisement of vacancies even when aware beforehand that a post needs to be filled. There is huge bureaucracy that is ridiculous and should not be the case.

I move to some of the surveys and studies. Inclusion Ireland did a report that scarily stated 85% of children wait for more than a year for appointments and assessments. Some 1,000 families were surveyed for that. Down Syndrome Ireland conducted a survey of their parents and 30% of them or 400 families, of whom 44% wait similar lengths of time. The Ombudsman for Children, Dr. Niall Muldoon, said 4,000 children are awaiting an assessment. All of this makes for a horrendous story. I am aware of the standard operating procedure that is obviously not implemented yet and of the UN convention. It is something we could discuss for hours, but neither I nor the Minister of State has the time. I look forward in her response to getting hope so that I can go back to the parents and tell them she told me this and it will make a difference.