Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)

I thank the Minister. The reality is that there are still too many vacancies. I take what the Minister is saying in terms of trying to attract staff. However, continually having vacant posts puts pressure on the workers who are there already. Last week, I was at a wonderful initiative with Mayo Autism Camp and Manulla FC. There were many parents and children there. Although the day was really wonderful, I could not help thinking of all those children who were there on the day and were waiting for vital therapies and assessments. We are failing children with disabilities in Mayo and that cannot continue.

The Minister referred to section 38 workers. The promises to them have not been kept. There has been a reneging on the negotiations that were to be done with the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC. There are many things that can be fixed but until all of the positions are filled within the CDNTs, we are not going to be giving the necessary support to these children.

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