I acknowledge Kilkenny city has bucked the trend and is operating a full staff complement, which is great to see. However, it is a completely different story in south Kilkenny. The team serving Ferrybank, south Kilkenny and Waterford north city has a vacancy rate of 52%. Over half its posts remain unfilled. That is a massive failing for children across these communities. To make matters worse, the planned closure of Carlow College, which provided so many social care courses in the area, is another serious blow to the sector and the region. In Carlow the vacancy rate for the CDNT stands at a staggering 42%. While some areas have made real progress, others have been completely neglected. Will the Department introduce targeted measures for teams like those in Waterford north city and Carlow to tackle the high vacancy rates? I know from working with adults with disabilities that if some of the people I supported had received services when they required them, they would be in employment now and leading much different lives. It is too late for them. We need to look after the children now and see more staff in these places.

Sentiment score: 0.05

I thank the Minister of State for her response. While I welcome that there is progress being made, the harsh reality of this is that much of the progress is moving at a snail's pace. Over 2,100 children across the region I live in are on a CDNT waiting list. Almost 1,600 of those children having been on a waiting list for over 12 months. This number just compounds how slow progress is being made. Every day that a child in need is missing out on vital care is causing harm. It is as simple as that, so we need to see faster progress.

Sentiment score: 0.27