Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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16. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if his Department will consider the provision of new clinical therapies such as kinesitherapy for children with autism and disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38673/24]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The government are aware of the difficulties faced by the families of children with complex needs and is continuing to implement positive changes to help children access therapy and services.

Children’s disability services are provided based on the presenting needs of the child rather than by their diagnosis. These services are provided by 93 Children’s Disability Network Teams (CDNT) across the country.

The model of service for all CDNTs is family-centred and based on the needs of the child. This includes universal, targeted and specialised supports and interventions, as appropriate to the individual child and family. It is based on the objectives of empowering and supporting parents and others who are with the child on a daily basis to facilitate the child’s developmental needs

With regard to alternative therapy provision such as Kinesitherapy, consideration for additions to the scope of clinical therapies requires to be evidence informed in collaboration with key stakeholders and expertise as appropriate.

There are processes regarding regulation and registration across health and social care, to ensure best practice, which would need to be adhered to and this takes time to establish. The current therapies available are kept under review and the ones that are in train are available to view on the Coru website.