Senator Sarah O’Reilly has said the HSE’s new autism assessment protocol must be backed by significant investment in staffing and services, warning that families fear it could simply create another assessment pathway that leads to more waiting lists.
While welcoming efforts to improve access to autism assessments, Senator O’Reilly said the real challenge is ensuring that children and families receive the therapies and supports they need after a diagnosis is made.
“Families have seen pathways, reviews and new initiatives announced before. Their concern is that this could become another assessment process that ultimately leads to another long wait for support.”
“A diagnosis is important, but it is only the first step. Parents want to know that speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, psychology services and school supports will actually be available afterwards.”
Senator O’Reilly pointed to ongoing staffing shortages across disability services, noting that only 2 of Ireland’s 93 Children’s Disability Network Teams are fully staffed, while 457 posts remain vacant nationally. Vacancy rates stand at 26% for psychologists and 20% for speech and language therapists, placing huge pressure on existing services.
“The biggest issue facing disability services is staffing. We cannot continue introducing new systems without addressing the shortage of professionals needed to deliver them.”
She called on the Government to set out what steps are being taken to increase the number of graduates entering key professions such as psychology, speech and language therapy and occupational therapy.
Senator O’Reilly also highlighted the difficulties faced by Irish professionals who qualify abroad but encounter delays and barriers when seeking recognition of their qualifications upon returning home.
“At a time when services are crying out for staff, we should be doing everything possible to encourage qualified professionals to come home and work here. The process for recognising overseas qualifications needs to be faster and more streamlined.”
“Everyone wants assessments to happen more quickly, but they must also be thorough and accurate. The Government cannot present this protocol as a solution on its own. It’s unclear how they plan to address staffing shortages which is the main issue here.”
