Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I extend my gratitude to the Senator for raising these pertinent issues and, in particular, bringing light to the cases of James, Méabh and their families. As the Senator will know, the relevant Ministers are currently in the Dáil answering oral parliamentary questions, which is why I am here.

The Government fully recognises the importance of early intervention for children with disabilities in Ireland, including those living in Cavan. In early 2023, the specialist disability function transferred from the Department of Health to its current Department. This ensured appropriate focus was given to the challenges being faced by people with disabilities. Under the programme for Government, the Government is committed to ensuring children and their families who need early intervention and therapy input can access that support in a timely way.

Under the roadmap, children’s disability network teams continue to deliver supports for almost 45,000 children with complex needs, and despite increasing demand for services, the total number of children awaiting services has continued to fall nationally. Since the implementation of the roadmap was approved, this national CDNT waiting list has reduced from circa 16,500 to closer to 10,000 children at the end of September of this year.

Children’s disability network team staffing remains a key priority. The most recent CDNT workforce survey conducted outlines 2,009 posts filled in CDNTs and 445 posts vacant as of April. This survey outlines continued growth in staffing in all regions and a corresponding reduction in vacancy rates. There is an overall national increase of 8% in staffing in the CDNT workforce compared to the workforce as of the last survey in October 2024. This means there is an overall reduction in unfilled posts from 29% in October 2023 to 18% in April 2025, and an overall growth in the workforce of 415 whole-time equivalent staff since October 2023. The Government has continued to make funding available in 2025 for children’s services.

Speaking on Cavan specifically, the HSE has advised that the total number of children receiving services in a CDNT at the end of November stood at 380. The number of children on the waiting list at the end of November stood at 194 children, with 172 of those waiting over 12 months. To tackle these challenges, waiting list supports and initiatives have been put in place in CDNT services in Cavan, such as: diagnostic assessments, cognitive assessments and discipline-specific assessments outsourced to private providers; use of therapy assistant posts to support clinicians in service provision; and the use of recruitment agencies to source staff where Enable Ireland’s normal recruitment pathways have been unsuccessful. The HSE has also advised that staffing levels have improved in the last 12 months, and the local team is systematically working through the longest waiters on the waiting list. The Senator acknowledged that in relation to staffing. The Minister does reaffirm, however, that the Government, the HSE and its funded agencies remain committed to the delivery of appropriate services for children with disabilities and their families and to continue advancing services that meet their needs.

I provide this reply not in any sort of political or combative way but to try to say that the Senator outlines very real and stark concerns about the upper-end waiting times that these poor children, whose cases the Senator has raised in the Chamber, may be facing into. I wanted to provide the real context and say we were aware of that and were acknowledging it. We are committed to, and are, putting the resources in, which we hope will reduce those waiting lists and, more importantly, make sure those children are seen a heck of a lot sooner than is perhaps thought at the moment.