Danny Healy-Rae demands urgent action on disability assessments
Danny Healy-Rae spoke about long waiting times for assessments and therapies for children and adults with disabilities and urged immediate government action. He called on the minister for health and the HSE to recruit therapists, cut waiting lists, reimburse private assessments, and provide local adult day and respite services in Kerry.
Danny Healy-Rae said assessments are only the first step and that early intervention is critical. He urged the government and the minister for health to urgently recruit more therapists, psychologists and other professionals so children and young adults presenting with special needs can receive timely treatment.
He criticised long waits for assessments and warned many parents face another long wait to access services after diagnosis. He said some families are forced into private assessments, which should be reimbursed, and questioned what happens to families who cannot afford private options.
He highlighted a request from Saint Francis special school in Beaufort for an adult day and respite service on the grounds of Saint Mary of the Angels to serve people with intellectual disabilities in Kerry. He warned that closures and bed reductions, and proposals to place people far away in County Meath, Tipperary or Cork, are unfair on families who need local care.
He blamed senior HSE officials rather than frontline staff for service failures and urged the minister to stand up to the HSE. He said there is significant public money flowing into the system that is not reflected in on-the-ground services and appealed to government not to "fudge" on delivering funding and supports.
He described delays and complexity in applications for domiciliary care and disability supports when young people reach 16, and called for faster processing so families receive necessary financial and care supports without prolonged delay.
Urgent calls on assessment and therapy access
Danny Healy-Rae said assessments are only the first step and that early intervention is critical. He urged the government and the minister for health to urgently recruit more therapists, psychologists and other professionals so children and young adults presenting with special needs can receive timely treatment.
Concerns over waiting lists and private assessments
He criticised long waits for assessments and warned many parents face another long wait to access services after diagnosis. He said some families are forced into private assessments, which should be reimbursed, and questioned what happens to families who cannot afford private options.
Local services and Saint Mary of the Angels
He highlighted a request from Saint Francis special school in Beaufort for an adult day and respite service on the grounds of Saint Mary of the Angels to serve people with intellectual disabilities in Kerry. He warned that closures and bed reductions, and proposals to place people far away in County Meath, Tipperary or Cork, are unfair on families who need local care.
Accountability, funding and the HSE
He blamed senior HSE officials rather than frontline staff for service failures and urged the minister to stand up to the HSE. He said there is significant public money flowing into the system that is not reflected in on-the-ground services and appealed to government not to "fudge" on delivering funding and supports.
Domiciliary care and transition issues
He described delays and complexity in applications for domiciliary care and disability supports when young people reach 16, and called for faster processing so families receive necessary financial and care supports without prolonged delay.
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Transcript
opportunity to talk on this very most important matter and first of all I want to welcome Cara and her dad here again today. It is very sad to think that they have to come here again today after being here so many times before and that this is still a desperate situation where you know the young families find and young parents especially when they find that their child is somewhere not performing to what their liking would be and that when they want to get them assessed that they have to wait so long and and even then for to get you know to get the therapies that they need and it's so hard and especially in Kerry we would desperate difficulty down there when to get these these families seen after because health is overwhelming when they can see and we all adore and appreciate the young and now to my grandchildren and we're hoping that that they'll be fine and that they are fine and that's what we want for them and every every parent wants the best for their child and it is one thing to say that they'll have to be assessed in the six months what the the therapy and the what they need after the assessment that's the the other thing and that's what I'm appealing to this government to ensure that the therapist and the psychologist or whatever they need are put in place and fully has been provided to urgently recruit more therapists to assess these children and young adults presenting with special needs and disabilities this has to be top priority for the minister for health and and and to stamp their foot in it rather than letting the hse do what they like waiting times for assessment of need applicants have to be reduced how can a child or a young person receive the necessary treatment with it without a diagnosis early intervention is critical and paramount assessments and like I said is only the first step and many parents find that having waiting having waited to get the assessment they didn't face another long way to access the services their child needs many parents have no choice but to go down the route of private assessments and they should be in reimbursed when they do this this is put a huge burden in families what about the families who cannot afford a private assessment what happens to their children and and and young adults applications for financial support for domiciliary care for children and disability loans when they're reached 16 years are complicated and take far too long to process Saint Francis special school in Beaufort have requested the establishment of an adult day and respite services on the grounds of Saint Mary of the Angels for adults with intellectual disabilities in Kerry this is critical for where where at the present time uh Mary the Angels and and and Saint John of Gods who run it are practically closing that place down by stent because as soon as as the the the the patients that are there are the people that are there when they die off that their bed is closed down and there's no one else being put into ministers I'm actually to in in Michael knows it and and has been pushing the case for this for for so long as well but we need we need to take sure that Saint Mary of the Angels is revamped it is in the center of our county and just central to everyone and we hear that so many cases being uh suggested that they go up to county Mead about far away in some place in Tipperary or at the far end of county Cork that's not fair on on people with intellectual disabilities and their parents who are trying to do their best for them it's time that the government and this government stood up to the HSE because they're practically doing what they like they have done it and I'm not blaming the the the workers the nurses of the people on the ground I'm blaming the top officials the directors the people that we don't see at all the people that are pushing the pins the people that are making the laws it's time our minister for health and ministers for health stood up to the HSE there's so much money going in there and I'm very very dubious of how it is being spent because it's certainly not reflected on the ground where people when people become sick we have the situation in a only for so talk there's no doctor in kept you found anywhere in Kerry after five o'clock Friday evening there's more down time and people have to wait till morning and try to stay alive if they can until morning there's so many things that need to be need to be addressed and I'm appealing to the government not to fudge on this issue this is people with disabilities that's that little girl up there who's fighting for for for all our people who need help we need to do something about this now and stop it and make a real attempt to put the funding into it and make sure that the HSE deliver on the funding