Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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1444. To ask the Minister for Health when he expects to be in a position to improve the quality and extent of support services for children with special needs including the provision of maternity leave cover for speech and language therapists in order to provide continuity of services for the children in respect of whom no such cover exists at present; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33789/20]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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The Programme for Government, Our Shared Future, recognises the need to improve services for both children and adults with disabilities through better implementation and by working together across Government in a better way.

The Government commits to prioritising early diagnosis and access to services for children and ensuring that the most effective interventions are provided for each child, to guarantee the best outcomes.

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.