I raise intervention services and early intervention for children with additional needs such as speech and language therapy etc. Before Covid, many people in my constituency experienced delays of 13 or 14 months. That has now gone up to 37 months. That is three years. This is appalling. Children with additional needs are waiting for assessment in many cases and then waiting for services and their parents are told we do not have any speech and language therapists. Speech and language therapists tell us they cannot get jobs in the sector. Something is rotten in here and it is discrimination, appalling discrimination. Some families have had to go to court to get this rectified. It needs to be dealt with. It is just not acceptable to leave children with special educational needs to languish like this. They fall behind and regress. They need to be respected as well as every other child in the system.

I agree the time parents must wait for an assessment of needs for their kids is far too long. I understand there had been some improvements in the last couple of months rather than a deterioration but I will ask the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, to come back to the Deputy directly on it.