Beidh mé ag tabhairt tacaíochta don rún seo agus tá áthas orm an deis a fháil labhairt ar an topaic fhíorthábhachtach seo.  Beidh mé ag tacú leis an rún seo mar cuireann sé na deacrachtaí atá ag daoine atá faoi mhíchumas os ár gcomhair go soiléir.  Tá sé ríthábhachtach go bhfuil rún mar seo againn arís mar bhí topaicí mar seo os ár gcomhair cheana. I am happy to get the opportunity again to speak on this very important issue. When it comes to disabilities, we keep saying the same thing over and over again. I taught many children with special needs during the ten or 12 years I taught in schools. I observed at first hand the level of frustration and of desperation at times that exists among parents and even among class teachers who are trying to access adequate supports for children in terms of ensuring that they reach their full potential, which was laid out as a vision in the Education Act 1988. Every child must be enabled to reach their potential. How can they do so if they are not supported? I am very concerned about this matter. I would go as far as saying at this point that children with special needs in Offaly and Laois are being neglected because of the lack of access to therapy. This has gone on and on. When I was elected in 2016, one of the first issues I raised here was the lack of speech therapists, occupational therapists, dieticians and psychologists. It is becoming a major issue. Lately, this was confirmed to me very clearly when I dealt with a case where a young child had been referred at a primary care team meeting in December 2023 to a dietician and an occupational therapist. Because those vacancies have not been filled, there is a problem and that child still has not had access. That was nearly three years ago, and there is no doubt but that the child has regressed. If that is not a prime example of neglect, I do not know what is. There has to be a change of direction. I have stated time and again that Offaly and Laois are among the worst counties in the State in terms of there being no therapists and vacancies not being filled. I cannot for the life of me understand why therapists from the other CHO areas where there is not a backlog cannot be brought in, along with private therapists, to clear the backlog in Offaly and Laois. We are hearing about recruitment all the time from the HSE, but this sorry saga has gone on too long. I know of children who have not received speech therapy and who have regressed considerably. How are such children going to reach their educational potential? It is not fair, and it is leading to a lot of distress for children and parents. It is causing huge stress for them because they are frustrated, and rightly so. School principals and teachers are frustrated, and we are all seeing it time and again. The mess in Offaly and Laois needs to be sorted out. I call here once again for emergency action solutions, which I have outlined, to be put in place. Therapists should be brought in from CHO areas where the list is not as long and private therapists also to clear the backlog. I would hope that those solutions in the short term could be taken on board, because children are being failed and are being left behind by the ordeal in Offaly and Laois. I want to given another example of failure and a lack of planning and efficiency. Last week, it was brought to my attention that the portal that deals with SNA applications was not open for one particular school in Offaly to allow it to make its application for September. Bearing in mind that the schools will be all closing in June, it is grossly unfair on the school in question and on the particular child with special needs. That child and their parents do not know if they are going to have an SNA for September, which is very unfair. It is not giving anyone a chance really. I hope that this can be resolved. I have written to the Department of education and I await its response. I do hope that timely action will be taken to sort that out. That is a basic thing; a portal not being open for a school to make an application for an SNA should not be happening in this day and age. If there is a shortage of staff in the Department, people should be taken from some other Department. Practical actions need to be taken with a common-sense approach that goes back to basics and clears the problems. That is what I am recommending we do here tonight. We have debated other issues such shortages in respite care, inadequate home supports, therapy waiting lists and the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities time and again. In February and March last year and in contributions before that, the same pleas were made. Families are worn out from fighting for basic but vital services that really should be automatic. They tell me all the time in my constituency office that they really are battling. Every day is a battle for them. It could be trying to access basic supports for school transport and then trying to make sure that their child is catered for. Our Education Act talks about the importance of collaboration, working with people and making sure that inclusion is a top priority, but we are not seeing it. We are not seeing joined-up thinking; it is very disjointed. The services all need to work in tandem together, particularly with schools. Children are definitely regressing without timely occupational therapy or speech and language support. It is important that we mention carers because they save the State billions of euro every year. They do not get fair play because when it comes to respite, it can be very difficult for them to take time off. That issue also needs to be looked at. We also need to look at the home helps who support our elderly people in their homes. If a home help takes time off, as they are entitled to, there needs to be a replacement person immediately. We have to make sure that people with disabilities, our most vulnerable in society, are being looked after. No doubt the Government will point to its National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030. It states: At all stages, the views and opinions of disabled persons, their organisations, and other relevant stakeholders will be central to delivery, and we are committed to building their capacity where needed to support them in providing this strong voice. However, to the families on the ground, this reads as little more than hollow rhetoric because they are not seeing that in their lives every day when they have to cope with things they should not have to deal with, when they have to battle and fight for access to basic therapies or when they have to battle for SNAs with the school principal. It is just not happening. Where is the real meaningful action? Where is the urgency? Where is the accountability when respite places remain chronically underfunded in rural counties like Offaly? The strategy speaks of central involvement yet families tell me that they feel sidelined and that their experience is reduced to consultation checkboxes rather than driving real and meaningful change. People have had enough of tokenism and box ticking, which people use for self-preservation or whatever it is for. We need to see meaningful and genuine change. We need to go back to basics and put short-term solutions in place until we can devise more long-term sustainable solutions. We cannot keep kicking the issues concerning disabled people down the road with strategies and plans while people, particularly children, suffer. We need to move from the déjà vu debates that we have had here over and over again - it is like Groundhog Day at times here - to actual delivery. People need to have confidence that the Government is delivering for people with disabilities but we are not seeing it. Unfortunately, it is not there. Obviously, we need adequate funding to be delivered, if necessary through an emergency funding package such as the motion suggests. However, I suggest that we take short-term actions and put therapists in place in Offaly and Laois as soon as possible.

Sentiment score: -0.00