I thank Sinn Féin for tabling this motion. I thank, in particular, Cara Darmody and her father for their fantastic campaigning. It is an absolute shame that Cara is out there in this weather at the moment and that she feels the need to do this in storm conditions because of the failure of the Government to vindicate the legal rights and entitlements of children with additional needs and disabilities. It is absolutely shocking that she has to go these lengths. It is obviously beyond disgraceful that the waiting lists for assessments of need continue to rise. There are thousands more than there were the last time I looked at this. There are 18,000 children with disabilities and additional needs on these waiting lists. Getting an assessment of need is often critical to accessing supports and services the children need but, even if they do get the assessment of need, the services are not available because of the lack of staffing in CDNTs and CAMHS. The consequence I certainly see in my clinic is that children are regressing. This is all about giving children with additional needs and disabilities an equal chance, the same as other children. That is why they need the supports. What is actually happening is they are regressing because they are on waiting lists and their parents are in absolute despair because their children are deteriorating. It also overlaps with housing. If you have the double problem that you are also in a precarious housing situation, in overcrowded conditions or in a homeless hub, you cannot even get the services because of the conditions you are living in. I want to highlight for the Minister of State that in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown now – I do not know if this is true elsewhere – even where occupational therapists or other specialists in this area have identified priority housing requirements for children with disabilities or special needs, the council says there are too many kids with developmental delays or autism and it is therefore ignoring that or is not willing to take it on board as a priority because it would mean even more housing demand. Therefore, it is not listening to what the specialists say. It is absolutely disgraceful because the consequence is children suffering.

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