‘Gaping holes’ in child disability services leaving vulnerable children at risk, committee hears

Vulnerable children are at risk of slipping through the cracks due to “spectacular gaping holes” in the State’s child disability services, an Oireachtas committee has heard.

Health Service Executive (HSE) officials confirmed that there are more than 700 vacancies across children’s disability services at a time of increasing demand for services, or an average vacancy rate of about 34 per cent.

The Oireachtas Committee on Autism heard there were “huge variations” in the proportion of unfilled posts across individual child disability network teams, with some vacancy rates as high as 60-65 per cent.

Bernard O’Regan, head of operations at the HSE, said the proportion of vacancies varied across services such as speech and language therapy (36 per cent vacancy rate), occupational therapy (40 per cent), psychology (39 per cent) physiotherapy (38 per cent), social work (28 per cent), nursing (29 per cent) and administration (9 per cent).

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Green Party TD Marc Ó Cathasaigh called for urgent measures to boost the retention of staff, while Sinn Féin TD Pauline Tully said there was huge frustration among families whose vulnerable children were missing out on vital therapy.

The staffing gaps amounted to “spectacular gaping holes” in the system, according to Sinn Féin TD Ruairí Ó Murchú.

Minister of State at the Department of Health Mary Butler said the Government acknowledged that the needs of people presenting with autism and mental health difficulties could be complex and access to services has posed challenges.

She said children’s disability services received funding for more than 600 posts in recent years. However, as with many other care groups, recruitment for disability network teams remains a challenge.

[ Child disability services: ‘It’s heartbreaking to know we cannot afford the help he needs’ ]

Government departments were working to fully resource child disability network teams to maximise capacity through recruitment and waiting-list reduction initiatives.

She said the Department of Health was actively working to improve access, to signpost resources, and to use policy and legislative changes to drive improvement.

These include sourcing therapy assessments and interventions though private service providers.

When asked if the Government would consider funding or part-funding the education of school-leavers to qualify as therapists, Ms Butler said there are plans to support the education of counselling psychologists who will graduate at Trinity College Dublin.

She said a number of departments were in talks with higher education providers over expanding the number of graduates across key areas.

Ms Butler said the question of whether graduates who receive State support should be required to remain working in the public sector for a number of years will be examined by policymakers.

Ms Butler also said hiring staff from abroad was another option and said permits for workers from outside the EU have previously been approved to attract homecare and healthcare workers to Ireland.

[ More than 110,000 children on waiting lists for therapies and disability services, figures show ]

Speaking at a later sitting of the committee, Minister for Education Norma Foley said the Government is planning to reinstate therapists to all special schools.

Many were diverted from the sector during Covid; however, she said “their value within the special school setting cannot be highlighted enough”.

Overall, Ms Foley said the vast majority of children – about 98 per cent – with special educational needs are educated in mainstream classes.

“In the last few years, there has been a very significant increase in the number of children and young people being diagnosed with special educational needs, particularly in the area of autism,” she said.

“We have responded to that by providing additional supports in mainstream classes and additional special class and special school places necessary to meet the emerging needs of those children and young people.”

She added that her department recently received policy advice from the National Council for Special Education on special classes and special schools.

“The policy advice will need to be considered fully so that, long-term, a more inclusive education system can be delivered while also ensuring current demand from parents for special classes and special schools can also be supported,” she said.

In relation to school summer programmes for vulnerable children, Ms Foley said more schools than ever before have signed up to run them this year. In particular, she said, there has been a 50 per cent increase in the number of schools running a programme.

Much of this was down to improved supports available for schools and staff who are delivering these initiatives.