Hildegarde Naughton

We should be progressing-----

-----important legislation and improvements in the areas that matter most to individuals and families. A confidence motion does not achieve any of that. I am not sure the public sees Aontú as a serious political party. We hear a lot of discourse about people participating in democratic processes but yesterday outside this House, Deputy Tóibín said he was considering spoiling his vote on Friday wee…

A serious political leader-----

-----would never make that statement.

A serious leader would encourage voters to exercise their hard-fought democratic right.

I have confidence that colleagues cross the House will support this motion.

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak this evening. When this Government took office last January, we promised a step change in the delivery of supports and services for people with disabilities and their families. Budget 2026 is the first step in delivering on this ambition. Some €3.83 billion will be provided to specialist disability services in 2026. That is an unprecedented increase of €6…

I thank the Deputy for his question. The Government and I recognise the need for all children to receive the right services at the right time. We are committed to improving services for all children with disabilities. We have and will continue to do so. As the Deputy will know, there are currently 93 children's disability network teams, CDNTs, across the country and these teams provide services an…

As I was saying, we will be increasing our focus on children's neurorehabilitation. The HSE is progressing plans to examine the demand for those rehabilitation services for children in Ireland with acquired disability and to examine the current capacity of rehabilitation services, as well as designing a service delivery model for children with acquired disability in line with national strategies f…

I thank the Deputy for his contribution. It is important. He is correct that we should address those gaps. As I travelled the country I have met those who look after people who acquire a brain injury - mostly adults - but issues around that gap between the ages of 16 and 18 are issues that have been raised with me. I appreciate the Deputy raising the issue here and it is something we will have to …

The Government and I recognise the importance of early intervention for children with disabilities and of ensuring they receive the right service at the right time. Under the programme for Government we are committed to ensuring that children and their families who need early intervention and therapy input can access that support in a timely way. The key vehicle for change and improvement is the …

That is the breakdown I received but I will go back and see if there is a further breakdown. The Deputy's question was specific but those were the figures I got back. I will come back to the Deputy if there is a further breakdown. My Department and I know that more needs to be done in this area. My Department is working with the HSE to introduce specific recruitment and retention measures and inc…

I will come back and follow up in writing on that. The Deputy makes a good point as well. I always stress when travelling around the country and visiting services that there is a lot of fantastic work happening within the disability sector. Sometimes those working within the sector talk to me about the narrative out there. We all understand the challenges that have to be dealt with and there are f…

The Government and I recognise the importance of early intervention, and the programme for Government, as the Deputy knows, commits to ensuring children and their families get that early intervention and therapy input, and that they can access that support in a timely way. A key response to this issue is the recruitment and retention of health and social care professionals, and I alluded to that …

I do not have the figures for that but I can tell the Deputy that the focus of Government, and my focus and that of the Minister, Deputy Foley, is to make sure we are increasing the number of speech and language therapists and occupational therapists so that they are actually going out there providing the therapies. As the Deputy knows with regard to the backlog of assessment of need, a lot of the…

I thank the Deputy, and I will come back to him if I have those figures available to me. He raised an important point around early intervention. I refer to the earliest milestones, and a child not reaching them. What is happening now is a lot of these pressures are coming into the education system. Where a need is identified we need to be flagging it much earlier and providing the services much e…

I thank all Members for their contributions to this discussion. As Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities, I have witnessed at first hand the passion and commitment that disabled people bring to advocating for a more inclusive Ireland, and for continually highlighting the need to provide more and better services. The Government and I are very conscious of the struggles endured by d…

I thank everyone who contributed to this important discussion. It seems astonishing that it was not until 1993 and the passing of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 that homosexuality was decriminalised in Ireland. Prior to that, people across the country risked prison for simply being themselves. Attitudes towards individuals and couples who did not fit conventional stereotypes were host…

I thank Deputy Ó Murchú for his question. This Government is committed to enhancing the delivery of supports and services for all children in Ireland with additional needs, including autistic children. It is important to emphasise that an autism assessment or an assessment of need is not required for a child to access primary care, CDNTs or CAMHS. The Government accepts that waiting lists for asse…

A number of things are happening here. There is an increased demand for assessments of need. We are all very aware of the reasons for that. For many, it is about getting access to services as well as wanting to know about a disability and getting a diagnosis. All these form part of the demands on the system. The Deputy will know we are doing work through a Cabinet committee on disability. We have …

To answer the last question first, ensuring that children have access to the therapies they need is absolutely my priority and our priority as a Government. It is for that reason that my colleague the Minister, Deputy McEntee is continuing the work that myself and the Minister, Deputy Foley did when we were in the Department of Education on special education with in-school speech and language ther…

As I have said, the Government absolutely recognises that waiting times for assessment of need are far too long and we are committed to reforming the assessment of need process. Both this Department and the HSE have been working intensively to progress measures to address these waiting times. I want to emphasise again to parents that while children have a right to apply for the assessment of need…

I do not have a breakdown of the numbers of children who have gone through the process but there has been a 65% increase in assessments in the first three months compared with the same period last year. Even with that said, we know we have a lot more work to do to get through that. I might not have said it earlier, but we absolutely acknowledge people’s statutory right to have access to an assessm…

Regional assessment hubs are being rolled out. We had a meeting with the CEO of the HSE, Bernard Gloster, on that. I can get updated information for the Deputy on that. My understanding is that they are starting to be rolled out. That will help to reduce waiting lists. We have also worked with the HSE to seek to introduce specific recruitment and retention initiatives for therapists to work in CD…

The Government recognises the importance of early intervention for children with disabilities and ensuring they receive the right services at the right time. Under the programme for Government, we are committed to ensuring children and their families who need early intervention and therapy input can access it in a timely way. The key vehicle for change and improvement is the roadmap for service i…