Results 421-440 of 1,063,389 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Kathryn Reilly OR speaker:David Stanton OR speaker:Cathal Crowe OR speaker:Bríd Smith OR speaker:Jim O'Callaghan OR speaker:Jennifer Whitmore OR speaker:Simon Harris OR speaker:Pat Buckley OR speaker:Thomas Gould OR speaker:Seán Crowe OR speaker:Thomas Pringle) in 'Committee meetings'

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The implementation of the progressing disability services programme is agreed Government and HSE policy. This policy supports the reconfiguration of children's disability services to provide equitable child- and family-centred services based on need rather than diagnosis. Crucially, this aligns with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The HSE's roadmap for service...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Pauline Tully: The progressing disabilities model is not working on many fronts. There were 91 CDNTs established before the end of 2021. According to the HSE census from a year ago, only one of those teams was fully staffed. A number were close but quite a number had vacancy rates up to 70%. A team cannot function with a vacancy rate of 70% or even 50% or 30%. Many children have no access to their...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I cannot disagree with anything the Deputy said in terms of the challenge the significant level of vacancy poses for the CDNTs all over the country and their ability to deliver crucial interventions for children and the subsequent improvements in quality of life for families. The next Government will look at the progressing disabilities model and have an opportunity to make decisions. We...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Pauline Tully: We have been hearing about a recruitment campaign for quite some time. The progressing disability model was drawn up in 2013 or 2014, I think. At that time, workforce planning was not done and we now do not have sufficient therapists. I acknowledge it will take time to educate enough therapists but there is no guarantee they will work in disability services. There are many other areas...

Committee on Drugs Use: Family and Community: Discussion (24 Oct 2024)

David Stanton: I was not expecting to be first but I thank the Chair. I have another meeting at 10:30 a.m on the Traveller issues Mr. McCann referenced. I have met many of the witnesses previously. They have painted a bleak picture but they also put forward solutions, suggestions and proposals that should be taken on board, at this stage, by the next Government in a very strong way. The witnesses have...

Committee on Drugs Use: Family and Community: Discussion (24 Oct 2024)

David Stanton: If we are going to make a change, such as decriminalisation of the person, we need to have serious service supports in place. Other jurisdictions did this and went down this road but they did not have youth workers, social workers, psychologists or addiction services in place to help people. That has to be a very important part of this. Would Mr. Perth like to come in on the subject of...

Committee on Drugs Use: Family and Community: Discussion (24 Oct 2024)

Seán Crowe: The witnesses are all very welcome. I have dealt with many of them over the years in the context of some of the work they are doing. They led off this morning by speaking about the scale of the challenge we face. I think it was Mr. Collins who said that he has not seen the situation on the ground as bad as it is now. I think that is a common view. The witnesses sit on drugs task forces....

Committee on Drugs Use: Family and Community: Discussion (24 Oct 2024)

Seán Crowe: We were talking about the whole area of youth through the justice system and the lens of it. Again, it seems to be that if you are seen as a potential problem, the supports, the funding or group is there in relation to it, as Mr. Perth mentioned in his opening statement. We seem to pigeonhole young people who are a potential problem. All of a sudden, there is funding there in the justice...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Disability Services

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: 5. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to provide an update on children’s disability network teams in Mayo, including staff vacancies, recruitment and waiting lists for assessment and therapy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43583/24]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Too many children are waiting for therapies and assessment in County Mayo. I am trying to get a grasp on the staff vacancies in the children's disability network teams, CDNTs, and the waiting lists for assessment and therapy in County Mayo.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank Deputy Conway-Walsh for raising this question. I acknowledge the challenges faced by children and young people in terms of accessing services, particularly essential therapy services, in Mayo. The lead agencies there are experiencing ongoing challenges in recruiting across a range of disciplines and grades to fully staff the CDNTs. Recruitment is ongoing for administrative and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: 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...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I fully agree with the Deputy on the challenges of recruitment. It is the big challenge in disabilities services right now. The core solution to that is to train more health and social care professionals, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, physiotherapists and psychiatrists. We need more of them because the level of demand and need has increased, both because of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: That is part of the problem. Fine Gael has been in Government for the past 13 or 14 years and now we are looking to address these situations. The workforce planning should have been in place well before now. It is not a big surprise that there is such a high number of children with disabilities in need of support. I would say that this Government has failed children with disabilities and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank Deputy Conway-Walsh for her passionate advocacy on behalf of that child and his family. What I have done as Minister is to recognise that for so long disability was the poor relation within the Department of Health. We have taken it out of the Department of Health and brought it into my Department. That applied from March 2023, more than 18 months ago. There is so much more...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (24 Oct 2024)

Early Childhood Care and Education

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (24 Oct 2024)

Claire Kerrane: 7. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to provide an update on the publication of the early childhood care and education review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43559/24]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (24 Oct 2024)

Claire Kerrane: I wish to ask the Minister about the publication of the review of the early childhood care and education, ECCE, scheme. I believe it has been published and I welcome that. Will the Minister give us some detail on his response to that review? I understand it was completed in April. Why did it take so long to publish it? It is something for which the sector has been asking for quite some time.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy. It was published on Tuesday. We are delighted to publish it. I am delighted to have published it because I asked for this to be undertaken. There is a lot happening in the early years section in my Department. We had a busy summer negotiating another really successful budget. We have been bringing out extra support for AIMS, rolling out equal start and the new DEIS...