AONTÚ Leader Peadar Tóibín TD has said that the latest disability figures expose the widening gap between Government promises and the reality facing thousands of Irish families, with 20,209 Assessments of Need now overdue and 8,648 children still waiting for their first contact with Children’s Disability Network Teams. The figures are drawn from HSE data and have been cited in national reporting and parliamentary responses.
The Deputy said “Every Irish parent will remember the images of families sleeping outside Leinster House, desperately trying to force the Government to listen to their children. They will remember the tireless campaign of Cara Darmody, who as a young disability rights advocate has achieved more in highlighting this crisis than many Government ministers.”
“Yet despite repeated promises, repeated action plans, repeated press conferences and repeated assurances from Government, the number of children waiting for assessments and therapies remains at shocking levels. The latest figures show that 20,209 Assessments of Need are overdue, while 8,648 children are waiting for their first contact with a Children’s Disability Network Team.”
“Assessments of Need are a legal entitlement under the Disability Act. The fact that more than 20,000 children are waiting outside the statutory timeframe represents a systemic failure of the State to uphold its obligations to some of the most vulnerable children in Ireland. Only a small fraction of assessments are being completed within the legally prescribed timeframe.”
“It is little surprise that children are being left waiting when Children’s Disability Network Teams continue to operate with significant staffing shortages. The latest figures show an 18% vacancy rate across CDNTs, leaving hundreds of essential posts unfilled.”
“Parents have been promised reform. They have been promised additional staff. They have been promised that waiting lists would reduce. Yet families continue to find themselves fundraising privately, paying for assessments where possible and fighting endless battles simply to secure services that their children are entitled to receive.”
“The Government should not need parents sleeping on the streets or young campaigners fighting tirelessly for their own rights before it acts. AONTÚ has consistently highlighted the failures in disability services and raised the concerns of affected families. We have repeatedly warned that Government announcements mean little if frontline staffing levels remain inadequate and waiting lists continue to stretch into years.”
“AONTÚ is calling for an emergency plan to eliminate Assessment of Need backlogs, the immediate filling of vacant disability posts, improved recruitment and retention measures, and ring-fenced disability funding to ensure that every child receives the supports to which they are entitled.” Concluded the Deputy
