Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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124. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of children in Mayo waiting for an assessment of needs; the number of children in Mayo waiting for subsequent services and therapies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7767/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I would like to thank the Deputy for her question. The HSE have informed my Department that there are currently 175 children or young people waiting for an Assessment of Need in Mayo. There are 22 children on the Childrens Disability Network Team caseloads waiting for subsequent services and therapies. Looking more broadly, at the end of December 2024, there were 655 children waiting for an initial Childrens Disability Network Team contact in Community Health Organisation (CHO) 2 which encompasses Mayo, Galway, and Roscommon.

Delivery of services to children on waiting lists is inherently linked to staffing levels within Childrens Disability Network Teams and their capacity to deliver these services. The HSE and Lead Agencies are experiencing ongoing challenges recruiting to maximum capacity in the disability sector. These challenges are reflective of issues affecting the wider health and social care sector and are impacting the ability of the HSE and disability service providers to deliver on their vital work.

While recruitment and retention of staff is a challenge across the sector overall, a priority for Government is filling vacancies within the 93 Children’s Development Network Teams (CDNTs).

The Government has provided funding for additional posts to enhance the capacity of CDNTs and shorten the waiting times in recent years, with a further investment in Budget 2025 to fund additional therapy posts and clinical trainee places.