Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for being here today and I acknowledge the apology of the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, for her absence due to an unavoidable issue elsewhere.

I ask for an update on the children's therapy and assessment waiting lists and staff vacancies in County Louth children's disability network teams, CDNTs. As a public representative, the Minister of State knows this is one of the most heartbreaking issues we come across, that there are gorgeous, amazing little children who are not getting access to therapies, assessments and supports. It is so important to advocate for these children and their families. They should have equitable access to therapies for their children. Every child has a right to be healthy, and access to therapies plays a pivotal role in ensuring children with disabilities can lead a quality and fulfilling life and reach their potential. As a parent, all you want for your child is that they reach their potential and that they are happy. That is the goal. Due to a chaotic and fragmented system, we know children with additional needs are facing huge barriers and difficulties. They deserve timely and specialised attention and tailored therapies to overcome the challenges. Figures show that at the end of last year, 104 children under five years of age were waiting for more than a year for their first assessment for occupational therapy, and an unbelievable 564 children over five years old were waiting more than 12 months for their first assessment. Throughout the country we see the issue with staffing. I hope the Minister of State can give me an update on the staffing levels and vacancies in Louth. Previous reports suggest there is only half an occupational therapist when there should be six.

I want to give hope to parents and prove to them this State believes in all the children of the country. On 2 June 2022, we were informed by the Minister at the Joint Committee on Disability Matters that the HSE was developing a roadmap to bolster the progressing disability services, PDS, programme. Is there an update on that PDS roadmap and on how it will support families? At that meeting, various things were suggested by the Department, such as, for example, that there would be a pilot using groups such as the local Down's syndrome organisation to ease pressure on CDNTs, even if only for a defined period. Another suggestion was the temporary use of private providers where CDNTs were particularly restrained. This was also highlighted recently and supported by the Minister during a Dáil debate. There were suggestions of a temporary pausing of the individual family support plans until the CDNTs are more resourced, an expansion of the critical skills occupation list to include clinicians who will be recruited internationally, and scoping out what we can do to entice undergraduates to commit to working in the CDNTs after their graduation. The Department also said we could conduct some form of audit on how the PDS is being implemented throughout the country and have better communications with parents.

There seems to be an awful lot of energy put into reviews, scopes, and temporary this and that. However, the children and the families do not seem to be gaining the benefits of the increased funding, the emphasis and the urgency this Government, especially the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is putting into this very important issue. I hope the Minister of State can update the House on some of those matters.