Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Parents of children with disabilities who are being failed by the public system should automatically be able to avail of private treatment for their children at the State's expense. Parents of children with disabilities who are waiting for assessments of need currently face extraordinarily long waiting times. While waiting for these assessments, children are often failing to reach their developmental milestones. Some parents get private assessments, often at great personal expense. I am aware of parents in my own area who were before the Oireachtas committee and who had to access food banks in order to make ends meet at the end of the week because they have to pay privately for their children's treatment. I am also aware of other parents who simply do not have the ability to pay for private assessments.

Under the Disability Act, a child should receive a comprehensive assessment of need within six months of referral. The Government broke the law when it introduced the preliminary team assessments. This was ruled on by the High Court. As a result of the Government breaking the law, there has been an increase in the total number of applications for assessments of need that are overdue for completion. The figure now stands at 8,893. That is nearly 9,000 children who have not received their comprehensive assessments of need in the six-month statutory timeframe. At the very least, these children should be automatically allowed to pursue this assessment through the national treatment purchase fund. The response I received from the HSE on this matter states:

At present, the HSE does not fund or reimburse any fees paid to private practitioners where assessments, interventions or therapies have been commissioned by the service user or their family directly.

Parents who have to access food banks have no recourse. Parents of children with disabilities have no recourse when taking out personal loans to pay for the treatment of their child when they should by right receive it under the law. At the very least, the Government should provide the very children they have already failed by breaching the terms of the Disability Act with access to the NTPF.

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