I welcome the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, and to what looks like being a local affair, we welcome Deputy Carthy, who will ask the first question.

I welcome the Palestine women's national soccer team to Ireland and commend Bohemian Football Club on hosting the squad for their match this evening.

What does it say about the Minister's party's record that after 13 years in government, families are forced to go onto the media to beg for the services to which their children with disabilities are legally entitled. Recently, another desperate mother had to go public to report that her little boy will miss out on starting school later this year because he has not received his assessment of need. The HSE has confirmed that almost 10,000 children await an assessment of need the Government is obliged to provide within three months. All over the State, there are little boys and girls who need help and services. Their parents know this, their childcare providers or teachers know this and very often, their young siblings know this but they cannot access the help or services they need. Many cannot access appropriate school places or special protection supports without an assessment. They cannot get access to services with or without an assessment because of intolerable waiting lists. Can the Minister imagine the frustration, pain and anger of a mother or father who knows their child's life could improve drastically if only he or she could get access to an occupational therapist, to speech and language therapy or to a place in the right class in the right school but who finds the Government's failures are preventing the child from getting a fair chance of accessing those things?

An assessment of need identifies whether a person has a disability, any health or educational needs that arise from that disability, as well as what services are required to meet those needs. The Government has a legal obligation to provide an assessment of need under the Disability Act but true to Fine Gael form, the Government has been trying to shortcut the assessment process and this was called out by the High Court. The Government is now overseeing record waiting lists for assessments and 8,000 of the children have been waiting for more than three months. Some parents have gone to the expense of getting assessments carried out privately but the HSE will not accept them, while of course many families do not have the wherewithal to even consider that option. For those who do receive an assessment of need, very often they find their battle has just begun. Waiting lists for OTs, for speech and language therapy and other services are disgracefully long. Many find that the special education requirements of their child cannot be met because the Government continues to play catch-up rather than plan for the educational needs of children it knows are coming into the system.

The problem is, of course, worse in our native County Monaghan, which is just one of only two counties that do not have a special school despite the need being identified many years ago. What does the Minister say to the mother today who is looking at her little boy who does not have a school place next September? What does she say to those parents who are wondering when their child will receive the diagnosis they need for educational and health supports? What does the Minister say to those whose children have been assessed, who know what their child's needs are but who are being told those needs will not be met? After 13 years in government, what assurance will the Minister give to those families who will have to fight the Government every single day of their child's life just to get the services that will allow their children to have the start that every parent would want for their son or daughter?

Hear, hear.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I know it is one on which both he and I are committed to seeing progress. In representing our constituents, we all have had the experience of meeting parents who have been waiting for too long for the assessment of their children's needs - both of us have done that - and unfortunately, then for the therapies they also need.

We must do all we can to relieve the pressure on these families and on front-line staff. The Deputy will be aware that the Taoiseach has established a new Cabinet committee on children, education and disability, which includes all responsible Ministers and Departments. This committee has already met a number of times and the issue of disability has been front and centre. At the most recent meeting, there was a focus on the waiting list for assessment of need and on how we can increase the use of the private sector to deliver results for families who are waiting for long periods. Private assessments are already taking place with €16.5 million already set aside for the HSE to procure diagnostic ASD assessments through the private sector and we are examining what more we can do.

That work is very much being led by the Taoiseach, who is working extremely closely with the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and the Minister, Deputy Donnelly. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, visited our own constituency. She came up to Monaghan and she met the people at first hand. She spoke to them and there is no better person to advocate and work extremely hard for the rights of people with special needs and with disabilities. I am pleased to say today that the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, together with the Taoiseach and the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, is spearheading a new long waiting list initiative. That will be announced very shortly and will be underpinned by both investment and importantly, a real sense of urgency to address this issue.

The Deputy also mentioned children with special educational needs. For them to receive a high-quality education is also a priority for this Government. More than a quarter of the entire education budget is dedicated to special education and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, who sits at the Cabinet table, takes responsibility for this portfolio. In that capacity she is determined to be a voice for special education and inclusion at the highest level of government. The new Cabinet committee on children, education and disability includes all responsible Ministers and Departments and I know the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, is reviewing the need for special schools across the country and that is something she is working on together with the Minister, Deputy Foley.

I absolutely acknowledge, as does the Deputy, the need for a new special needs school in County Monaghan. We have a fine upgraded facility in Cootehill, County Cavan, namely, the Holy Family School. It recently received a multimillion euro investment and is state-of-the art but unfortunately there is a waiting list there and there are more and more children who require this service. This Government is committed to providing the services we need to make sure our children get priority.

All of that would count for something if this problem had just emerged in the past number of weeks or months.

Hear, hear.

This problem has been getting steadily worse under this Government. For all of the task forces and all of the reviews proposed by the Minister, there are immediate solutions that need to be implemented. Deputies Cullinane and Tully and other members of the Opposition have told the Government what they are. Most importantly, the families of the children involved and the professionals directly involved in providing these services have told the Government what the solutions are.

The Government needs to end the recruitment embargo on HSE primary care services. The Government needs to fully resource and staff children's disability teams. The Government needs to end the disparity between HSE and section 39 disability service providers. The Government needs to plan special education places. We do not need a review. We do not need an assessment to tell us that counties Monaghan and Leitrim, the two counties without special schools, need them. We need the plan in place to deliver them as a matter of urgency and we need to implement the comprehensive workforce plan to sustainably staff the health services and end the excruciating waiting lists.

I asked the Minister what she would say to those families today who are in dire circumstances because their children are being denied the services they need right now. They deserve an answer to those very important questions.

Hear, hear.

I know the parent the Deputy is talking about. I have spoken to that lady as well. I know the difficulty she faces and that she has tried approximately four different schools and is having difficulties. I know that and we are doing all we can to support her. We need to explore greater use of the private sector when it comes to the assessment of need. We also need to grow the teams within the HSE which are providing much-needed therapies and increase training places within our third-level sector so that we improve services, increase capacity and reduce waiting lists.

In this regard, the progressing disability services roadmap for 2023 to 2026 was launched last October. It focuses on the ongoing development of children's disability network teams and services to meet current and growing demand.

We are investing greatly in CDNTs, with funding equating to almost 800 whole-time equivalent posts, including approximately 175 therapy assistant posts, approved in this year's budget. There was no embargo on recruiting people who could carry out assessments of need for children. There was a derogation on that in terms of staffing. All the resources we could find and put into that have been put into that. There has been a lot done in that area. I agree that we have to do more.