Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator McGreehan for raising the issue of the waiting lists for therapists and assessments for children and staff vacancies in both north and south Louth as part of the children's disability network team. As the Senator is aware, I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and I am grateful to the Senator for raising it.

First, the Minister of State wishes to be completely clear that the development of any child with a disability to reach his or her full potential is of the utmost importance, and recognises that it is essential to ensure a timely and effective process that works for children, young people and families. The principle and importance of early intervention is recognised by both the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte and the HSE.Additionally, the key focus of the HSE has been to develop a strategy for services that is above all child and family-centred and reflective of the best national and international practice.

The progressing disability services programme has been challenging for many stakeholders, most importantly for children and young people using the service and their families. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is aware the challenges faced have resulted in unacceptable delays for families seeking to assess essential therapies for their children. She is clear and unequivocal she finds it unacceptable and that is why she has dedicated her time and energy to dealing with the issue. The Minister of State reiterates her unhappiness at the situation as well as her commitment to addressing it. I compliment her for her determined focus to deal with this issue.

On the children's disability services in Louth, I can inform the Seanad there are 29.8 whole-time equivalent posts allocated for the North Louth Children's Disability Network Team, of which 8.5 whole-time equivalent posts are vacant. That is a significant percentage. It is at least 30% vacancies in the area. These vacancies mean families are experiencing waiting times of between six and 18 months, depending on the discipline and ongoing demand. There are 31 whole-time equivalent posts allocated to the South Louth Children’s Disability Network Team, of which 15 whole-time equivalent posts are vacant. That is a 50% rate of vacancy. This translates into waiting lists of up to 18 months for services, with additional disciplines also affected. The HSE recognises the recruitment challenge and is taking measures nationally to encourage recruitment and retention of staff in the CDNTs, including targeted national and international recruitment to include an agreed relocation allowance where appropriate, both apprentice and sponsorship programmes for therapy grades and employment of graduates as therapy assistants as they await their CORU registration.

I am conscious recruitment will be beneficial only if current staff are retained. Initiatives to support staff retention, such as training and development programmes, are also being implemented by the HSE. The HSE has provided funding for 600 additional posts in recent years to strengthen the capacity of these local teams to ensure services are provided. Vacancies are arising not because of a lack of funding but because of supply issues in the health and social care sectors for specialist therapy professionals. While recruitment and retention efforts proceed, the HSE is also driving a number of initiatives to reduce waiting times for children and families and providing the support they so urgently need, such as sourcing therapy assessment and interventions externally via private service providers. I think we have seen an increase in that in many areas recently. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is fully committed to pursuing every avenue in order to improve access and reduce waiting times for children seeking access to disability services in County Louth and across the country. The single biggest issue is recruitment and retention, which she is committed to working on, though there are time delays in that.