Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I wish to ask the Tánaiste about the children's disability network teams, CDNTs. Madison Maher is seven years old. She lives on the northside of Dublin. Maddie has an autism diagnosis. She is non-verbal and has a moderate learning disability. Maddie's assessment of need was carried out when she was just three years old. Since then, she has not been offered any of the necessary supports from the CDNT. She is on a waiting list for speech and language therapy, a waiting list for occupational therapy and a waiting list for physiotherapy. She has never been offered any appointment. She has no estimated timeframe on when she will be offered an appointment. She has spent half her young life on waiting lists without getting any support. She now has severe problems with her feet and is likely to require surgery because of the complete lack of early intervention.

As the Tánaiste knows, timely intervention in these early years is of critical importance. Maddie's mother has lost all hope in the CDNT. She is at her wits' end trying to get the support her daughter needs urgently. They have been passed around and told that staff shortages are why Maddie is being left without any support. Maddie urgently needs supportive therapies and a long-term care plan. She urgently needs a further assessment to use an alternative communications device. She urgently needs to be seen by a clinical nurse specialist.

Maddie is not the only child being systematically failed by the State. There are thousands of children out there like her. Each child and family is enduring pain, trauma and almost constant anxiety. Parents who have to watch their children suffer every day are in a living hell. They know there are therapies that could transform their children's lives but they cannot access them and do not know if they will ever be able to do so. All their interactions with State agencies end in the same way, with waiting lists and broken promises. We know that more than one third of approved posts in CDNTs are not filled. This means there are more than 700 vacant positions, with some teams experiencing staff shortages of 60% and even 70%. How can any service operate with staff vacancy rates at these levels?

The Government promised that a new recruitment plan would finally start to address this crisis. In April, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, told this House that the latest recruitment drive had concluded in January and there had been 495 applications. Nearly five months after the latest recruitment drive ended, how many of these 495 applicants have been hired? When will the CDNTs be properly staffed and resourced? When will Maddie get the interventions and supports she urgently needs?

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