I rise today to speak for children with disabilities and their families. Children's disability network teams, CDNTs, are meant to be the backbone of early intervention in this country, but that backbone is well and truly broken. The teams are chronically understaffed and the consequences are devastating. In Mayo, no CDNT is fully staffed. Mayo north has four full-time vacancies, Mayo south has three and a half vacancies and Mayo west has almost four vacancies. Unbelievably, the HSE tried to remove one of these vacant post as opposed to filling it. Across the broader region of the north and north west, there are 50 vacancies and not a single CDNT that is fully staffed. This means families waiting years for therapies for children with disabilities. It means missed milestones and parents begging for updates. Of course, it means children are moving from one waiting list to another like paperwork. When will the Taoiseach intervene and sort out this crisis not just in Mayo but right across the country?

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What about vacancies-----

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