Schoolgirl Cara Darmody should be enjoying childhood rather than advocating for better autism services, Dáil told
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Almost 10,000 children with disabilities were overdue assessment of need at the end of 2023, the Dáil has heard.
Action must be taken to tackle waiting lists and the number of those who have been waiting longer than three months for assessment, Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns said.
Ms Cairns raised the issue as 13-year-old Cara Darmody continued her protest outside the Dáil as part of her campaign for better autism services.
Criticising the lack of Government action to address autism services, Ms Cairns said the Tipperary schoolgirl should be enjoying her childhood rather than having to advocate for her two brothers, who are autistic.
Cara will meet with Simon Harris on Thursday — the third Taoiseach she will have spoken with since she began her advocacy.
Ms Cairns asked whether the Taoiseach would be able to tell Cara anything different than what Micheál Martin and Leo Varadkar had to say.
She said there was a disconnect between Government rhetoric and the promises made and the lived reality of those with disabilities and their families.
"The minister is talking about people reaching their full potential and people's needs being met," the Cork South-West TD said.
"There is a stark contrast between that kind of language and the language that comes back in reports from the Ombudsman, reports with titles such as Wasted Lives."
Ms Cairns noted not one of the Children's Disability Network teams around the country was fully staffed, adding many children had been denied an appropriate school place.
Responding, Justice Minister Helen McEntee said a total of €12m had been allocated to address waiting lists, and while it will not fix all of the issues, it will reduce it by 2,500 young people. In total, about 7,550 people will receive their assessment of need.
Ms McEntee said there were significant challenges being faced in finding the staff to carry out the volume of assessments. Work was ongoing to recruit therapists, dietitians, occupational therapists, physical therapists, psychologists, social workers, and speech and language therapists to work as part of the National Children's Disability Network.
Ms McEntee said 161 offers had been made so far this year in an effort to fill some of the almost 700 roles that are currently vacant.
"I am not saying we are there yet but we will make more progress," she said.
In terms of school places, Ms McEntee said there had been approval for 400 new special classes this year, of which 375 have already been sanctioned by the National Council for Special Education.