Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 208: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children if she will report on efforts by her Department to deal with the shortage of speech and language therapists; the plans in place to deal with the issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22150/05]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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Three new speech and language therapy courses commenced in the 2003-04 academic year, one of which is a two year postgraduate course at the University of Limerick. In total, these courses provide an additional 75 training places in speech and language therapy. This expansion in training numbers has been identified in the report commissioned by my Department from Dr. Peter Bacon and associates on current and future demand conditions in the labour market for certain professional therapists as sufficient to meet the long-term requirements for speech and language therapists in Ireland. The first graduates of the new speech and language therapy course in the University of Limerick will be conferred in the near future.

Intensive efforts have been made to improve staffing levels in speech and language therapy in recent years. The success of these measures has resulted in an increase of 99 speech and language therapists, in wholetime equivalent terms, in the public health service from 399 WTEs at end-2001 to 498 WTEs at end-2004. This represents an increase of 25% in the number of speech and language therapists employed over the three year period.

Measures that have contributed to increased staffing levels in speech and language therapy include new pay scales and enhanced opportunities for professional and career development, the availability of the fast track working visa scheme and the streamlining of procedures for the validation of overseas qualifications. These measures are also designed to help sustain the improvements achieved in staffing levels.