CDNT waiting lists
Deputy Wynne highlighted 99 children in Clare still waiting to be seen by children's disability network teams and said families are being failed. The Taoiseach said the problem is mainly recruitment of therapists, that he has convened ministerial and HSE meetings, and that disability services are struggling especially to attract staff.
With the Taoiseach's co-operation there are two speakers left. I will take them together.
Comment on this
Children with complex additional needs are some of the most vulnerable people in our society. Children's disability network teams, CDNTs, play a vital role in the development and support of these children and their families. I am horrified that today, 99 Clare children who have been referred are still waiting to be seen by the CDNT in Clare. That does not take account of the children that still await a referral. The programme for Government commits explicitly to support the services. However, these families are being failed. What can the Taoiseach tell these children and their families today?
Comment on this
The new agri-climate rural environment scheme, ACRES, for farmers is a couple of weeks from being nailed down. It is a good scheme but unfortunately, there are some cohorts which do not quite fit in. Farmers who are on the hen harrier scheme and superficially in Clare, Burren farmers. There are 400 farmers in Clare in the Burren Life programme. It is a fantastic project which is run by Dr. Brendan Dunford and his team. I have met them and the Irish Farmers Association, IFA. The new scheme does not cater for them. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, will meet them next Tuesday and hopefully there will be a positive outcome. This is a project that has led the way. The fields in the Burren are scored on a one to ten grade. Farmers are paid by the environmental inputs. The project has been recognised by UNESCO. I do not know of any farm, field or tract of land that has been recognised in Europe apart from the Burren. It is now a geopark.
Will the Taoiseach comment on the mass resignation of board members from Horse Sport Ireland?
Comment on this
The issue of CDNTs is one of recruitment of the therapists. I have convened meetings with the Ministers for Health, Education, and Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and the HSE to prioritise the recruitment of therapists for special needs children. I have had issues on how this has progressed in certain areas with disability where children's access to therapists is not optimal. The issue seems to be particularly acute in the disability services in respect of the capacity to recruit therapists. Other sectors of the health service seem to have a better track record of recruiting therapists. That is an issue that needs to be sorted out by the HSE in respect of recruiting sufficient therapists for disability services for children.
ACRES is a fantastic scheme. I have a note here which I can share with the Deputy. I think that it is being expanded. The Burren programme involves a total area of just 11,000 ha of habitat being scored as a result of the results-based assessment. By comparison, under ACRES it is expected that almost 40,000 ha will be scored. That is a significant upscaling of environmental monitoring and assessment of that region. I have heard some concerns that farmers might get a lesser amount or whatever. I think that we have to address that. I will engage with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine on that because we want to reward people doing good by the environment. We have to make sure that the entire thing is environmentally sound and that we do not lose the gains that have been made by the original programme.
The Minister is evaluating the situation regarding Horse Sport Ireland and I will come back to the Deputy on that.