I acknowledge the men, women and children with disabilities who came to Leinster House earlier today in the midst of a storm. They came here to send a clear message to the Government that they are now choosing between eating and heating their homes. We heard from people who are deciding how many bars of gas they could turn on and how many more trips they can make to the food bank in a week. What a shame. What an incredible situation for a rich country in 2025, to have people in their wheelchairs travelling to Dublin today because they are struggling so hard this winter. That says a lot about this Government and its priorities. The people who were here today actually said they felt they were used during the general election, when disability was to be a priority. It has been shown once again not to be a priority. In terms of the assessments of need, the Minister's statement today mentioned new teams and new expert staff, but where are the therapists? That is the actual issue. In my own constituency there are 13 vacancies in the CDNTs 8 and 9, with 11 vacancies in speech and language, occupational therapy and psychology in primary care across Roscommon and Galway. We need the therapists. Without them we will not be able to achieve the six-month obligation for children in terms of assessment of need. However, we do not have the therapists. That is the issue in terms of workforce planning. That is the issue that needs to be looked at, whether it is CORU registration for those who qualified outside the State and come back, or whether it is the numbers coming through our colleges. That is the real nub of the issue and it is not being addressed in what was announced today.

Sentiment score: 0.02