Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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54. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for an update on the timeline for the reintroduction of therapists to special schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26001/24]

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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This might be the last question for tonight. I now get why people were smirking and laughing when I came in. Will the Minister of State give an update on the timeline for the reintroduction of therapists to special schools and make a statement on the matter?

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy O'Sullivan very much. I have no doubt, given he is a Cork TD, that the introduction of therapists to special schools is primarily focused on Cork schools. To be honest with him, a comprehensive submission has been made in recent days by David Walsh and Bernard O'Regan. Officials in the Department have been meeting with the CEO of the HSE to address the introduction of the pilot scheme that would be required for the 14 special schools in the Cork area. One of the concerns was where the governance for the reinstatement would lie. All the therapists who will be returned to special schools in the Cork area will be part of the local CDNTs. First and foremost, parents will have the choice, which is very important, where they access CDNT services. Most children attending a special school are encouraged to choose the CDNT closest to the school so that the CDNT can provide the support, whether it be OT, physio, speech and language or psychology, but also at the same time the CDNT can provide the clinical governance piece and support the teaching staff and the parents. That is a piece parents in the Cork area had not been provided with. They did not have the option of choosing a service close to home or close to a school. That is part of the PDS framework document from its inception in 2009.

There is also a role for the assistant therapist post, which sometimes gets overlooked. When a clinician can write up the programme of works, the roll-out of the programme can also be done by the assistant therapist in the area of OT, physio and speech and language. To be very fair to us in our Department, along with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, we are working very hard. We have secured the funding for 125 therapists. The programme of works ensures they get the training they require and a placement within the CDNTs.

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I again thank the Minister of State. I do not doubt her bona fides in this regard. I know she has been trying her best to resolve this issue in recent years.

Approximately two and a half years ago in Limerick, we met all the principals of Cork special schools. I note that the Minister of State has been working away in the background trying to resolve this issue, but she is obviously acutely aware of the problem. I have no doubt that hiring therapists and people with specialties has been difficult right across the HSE and not just for special schools. Yet, we are being faced with the prospect of having one in three - even one in two in some cases - posts not being filled. Nobody here is going to call for the privatisation of any of these therapies but, unfortunately, the reality of the situation is that the HSE is finding it very difficult to appoint these people to posts and hence the call for these to be outsourced, for want of a better word, to private providers in the interim. I stress that this would not be my preferred route, but it is being considered as an interim measure.

The Minister of State mentioned 14 schools. In particular, St. Killian's Special School in Mayfield is ready to go and desperately wants a green light to ensure that the children concerned can get the services that are required.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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In relation to special schools, this has now been going on for in excess of two years. It was in May 2021 that we placed a pause on the removal of therapists from special schools. We then sourced our secure funding for 86 therapists to be replaced into schools. Overall, we secured funding for 221 therapists, and only 126 have been returned. When I say “returned”, I mean that they were returned to special schools and that they are part and parcel of their local CDNT team. We have had some good success on this. Yet, in other areas, we are very challenged and unfortunately, we are quite challenged in the Cork area.

There is a complete willingness within the HSE to find a solution to work with ETBs. I must acknowledge the patience of the parents in this regard. I have no doubt that we will find a Wexford model that can be applied to a Cork solution.

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister of State referenced how the Wexford model has worked. That is what I am hearing anyway, and I have discussed this with colleagues. Could the Minister of State again elaborate on this? She mentioned that 220-odd posts were required and that 126 of them have actually been appointed at this stage. There is therefore a shortfall of approximately 100 appointees that are yet to take up a post. Can the Minister of State clarify where things are? How many of those posts are outstanding in terms of advertising, whatever the case may be? I would appreciate any updates in relation to that.

Second, the Minister of State and I both know that other stakeholders in Cork have stepped up to the plate while people have been going without. I am not trying to come in here again and speak negatively about the provision of service that people get in these special schools. Yet, for the largest part, many children are going without basic intervention and certain groups, such as Rainbow Club Cork, have stepped in. Can the Minister of State elaborate on the role of Rainbow Club Cork to bridge that gap in the short term?

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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As I said to the Deputy, of the 221 whole-time equivalent posts, 126 have been filled. Wherever they are in the country, at this stage there is a shortfall of more than 700 whole-time equivalent staff on our CDNT teams, which have a role in supporting our special schools. The Wexford model has been phenomenal in the sense that there has been real collaboration there. I have no doubt the same collaboration is in Cork as well between our teaching body and local CDNT teams, where there is a knowledge of where the capacity was within the private sector to support this. There was no breach of data under data protection rules. They were able to support the local CDNT team in updating the children's records and passing on that information. That can still be done and the CDNT held the risk for all of the clinical governance on it.

I will finish on this point. As the Deputy quite rightly said, the role of Rainbow Club Cork is important. I have visited it twice and the Minister, Deputy O’Gorman, has been to Rainbow Club Cork. To be quite honest, without Rainbow Club Cork, which provides an additional 500 therapy interventions on a weekly basis, we would be having a far different conversation about the crisis in Cork. Rainbow Club Cork, under Karen and Jon O'Mahony, has played a phenomenal role. I was delighted last week to hear that the National Ambulance Service base has moved off-site and the key has gone to Cork City Hall. I hope the expression of interest will move along at pace so we have the opportunity to develop a centre of excellence in a lovely area where children do not have to keep putting away their goods on a daily basis. It is the intention of both myself and the Minister, Deputy O’Gorman, to support the Rainbow Club, as we do for any of these groups that provide valuable interventions when we do not have the capacity in our CDNT teams.