Children's assessments of need
Deputy Mary Lou McDonald raised severe delays in assessments of need for children with autism and disabilities and asked what the Government would do. The Taoiseach welcomed the visitors, noted disability measures and funding, and said progress was being made.
Can I take the opportunity to say, "Up Tipp"?
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I knew that would be a bit of a crowd pleaser.
More than 15,000 children with autism and disabilities are overdue their assessments of need and that number is expected to increase beyond 25,000 by year's end. In each one of these cases, the Government is breaking the law. The Taoiseach's excuse for this is that capacity has been reached in terms of psychologists and therapists but a 14-year-old campaigner, Cara Darmody, a Tipperary child, has presented the CEO of the HSE, Bernard Gloster, with options to tap psychologists and therapists, locally, nationally and internationally, who could dramatically reduce the waiting list. Cara was in the Dáil today. She is directly contradicting the Taoiseach's assertion that the issue is capacity-----
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-----and her assessment has been accepted by Mr. Gloster.
She wants to know very simply-----
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-----what the Government will do about this.
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I welcome the Irish Wheelchair Association and the Tipperary Volunteer Centre. We will maybe meet them all again in two weeks at the all-Ireland hurling final. I cannot say, "Up Tipp" or "Up Cork". I am going to try to be neutral but I think people know where my heart is.
On the issue of assessments of need, we set up a special Cabinet subcommittee on disability, which met yesterday. There has been progress on the increase in numbers on CDNTs and significant progress on the school-based therapy service for special schools. The Minister for public expenditure has allocated funding for the next school year beginning in September. On assessments of need, and I said this, there will be a change in the legislation to prioritise access for children with special needs to services. It will be a priority that they get access to services straightaway. That legislation has to take place to resolve this, as well as utilising whatever capacity is in the system. I know that Cara Darmody has met with the HSE and with the Minister of State, Deputy Butler.