Earlier today, I, along with others, had the pleasure of meeting with Cara Darmody. Despite her young age, Cara is an advocate and a champion of those with disabilities, not just her own family. She has one major demand and that is for the Government to comply with the legal obligation to ensure that all children receive an assessment of need within six months. She has been here before and, because of the failure, to deliver she is back again, compelled to do a second sleep-out for 50 hours outside the gates of Leinster House. It is incredible that a child is doing that in the weather we have at the moment. We should all, particularly those on the Government benches, be ashamed that this child has felt the need to undertake such a protest for a second time. It is shameful that the State continues to fail children when it comes to their rights under the Disability Act. It is shameful that not only has Cara had to embark on such a protest again but that the number waiting for an assessment of need has risen to over 18,000. A commitment to increase recruitment has not been followed through on. That is what prompted Cara to commence another protest. Those who live with a disability have been let down by this Government. The recent budget provided no support in the face of a rising cost-of-living crisis. It has failed to honour legal obligations on assessment of need. In every aspect, it has failed. When we discuss these figures, one can lose sight of why an early assessment is so important. An early assessment allows the family to plan the support that a child with a diagnosis needs. It allows for the necessary supports to be applied for. When children must wait beyond the legally required six months it impacts their development, their potential to live a positive life, to receive the right supports within the education system and to have the best opportunity to develop and thrive as all children should be allowed to do. The legal requirement is that an assessment be provided within six months. Failure to do so is a breach of the law, yet that is what the Government continues to do. The public should be under no illusion that the Government is just missing the targets or hitting the crossbar. The average wait time for an assessment of need is 27 months. Children are waiting two and a quarter years for an assessment of need in some places. That is a shameful failure. In Limerick, 259 children are waiting for an assessment of need. As in other areas, not one child of those 259 has had an assessment completed within the statutory six months. Throughout the State, nine out of every ten children are not having their assessments completed on time. Campaigners such as 15-year-old Cara should not have to undertake such protests to have this failure addressed. It is high time the Government committed to and delivered on making emergency funding available. It is high time it committed to a timeframe for meeting the legal obligation to provide an assessment within six months, as is the law. It should need to demonstrate how it is going to recruit and retain staff for disability services. We have been in this Chamber before, urging the Government to act. Cara has been here before, urging the Government to act. We have detailed steps that the Government must take if it is serious about living up to its legal and moral obligations to these children. Without a change in approach, waiting lists will continue to skyrocket, children will continue to be denied the essential education they deserve and are entitled to. Enough is enough. Please commit to emergency funding today.

Sentiment score: -0.04