Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I formally second the motion. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, to the Chamber and acknowledge the support and work that she has done in that Department. It is a difficult role but it is one she has taken on to make positive changes, and I know she will make further positive changes. I am speaking as a Member of the Oireachtas but I am also the parent of a young autistic son, so I have a certain knowledge. I am by no means an expert but I know that as a parent, I am in a very lucky position compared to some other parents who are going through difficult times and will have more difficult times in the years ahead.

As Senator Seery Kearney said, we need to act with a level of urgency. Every day, I come in the front door of Leinster House and I am extremely proud to be here and to work for the people of my community to try to effect change. I look at the Proclamation that is hanging to one side as I come in, and the one line that always stands out to me is about treating all of the children of the nation equally. It will be 108 years ago this Easter that it was written but I am afraid we have not lived up to what we promised we would do 108 years ago.

We have a number of asks in the motion and I want to home in on a couple of them, in particular ensuring that the provision of disability services is a priority in the HSE service plan. It is a must. At a time when we have significant budget surpluses in the country, we need to prioritise disability services in the year ahead.I recently raised a Commencement matter with the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, on the one-stop shops that were recommended in the autism committee report. I am delighted that a pilot is going to be rolled out with funding from HSE finances in 2024. That is the type of action we need to see across disability services. We need to see the roll-out of supports for families throughout the country.

We also need to see recruitment. I know this is a major sticking point. More than 800 positions across the CDNTs are now empty. In CHO 8, 43% of roles within children's disability network teams are not filled. Unless they get filled, we are not going to be able to provide services to the kids. Under the Minister, Deputy Harris, new positions became available in the colleges from September 2023 but the reality is that we will not have those professionals in place and employed in our disability network teams for four to five years. We need to throw the kitchen sink at this. We need to give every child the opportunity of a bright future.

The National Treatment Purchase Fund is used for various operations throughout the country. People are going to Northern Ireland for cataract surgery and so on but we will not allow funding from that system to be paid to parents who have to pay for a privately provided assessment of needs where we are not able to provide it to those kids who need one. There are massive waiting lists. There are 15,941 waiting for a first-time assessment for occupational therapy, 15,625 waiting for an initial assessment for speech and language therapy and a further 8,957 waiting for further speech and language therapy. They are drastic figures and behind them, ultimately, are children.

As a State, we have to use all resources available and every mechanism we can to address this issue. I know this is an issue close to the Minister of State's heart. We need to take on the HSE and deliver services for kids. We need to take down the wall that is blocking some of the mechanisms and supports that can be put in place to make children's lives better. That is something that must be done on a whole-of-government basis. We need to put the funding in place to make sure we get services to our kids.