Gino Kenny calls for Disability Act review as families wait years
Gino Kenny spoke in support of a Sinn Fein motion and demanded a review of the 2005 Disability Act, saying it is not fit for purpose. He criticised long waits for assessments and therapy for children and urged the minister and the HSE to fix the system.
Praise and position
Gino Kenny commended Sinn Fein on the motion and said he and his colleagues have tried to be constructive rather than make politics of the issue. He argued the Disability Act's intent was good but its implementation has failed children and families.
Legal breaches and High Court findings
Kenny recounted a period in which the government breached its own obligations under the Disability Act and noted that hundreds of families had to go to the High Court to secure services. He cited a recent High Court finding that a standard operating procedure was incompatible with the Disability Act.
Waiting times and services affected
He highlighted cases where families wait up to three and a half to four years for basic services such as speech and language therapy and occupational therapy. He said the Act intended assessments of needs to occur within six months but, in practice, families experience multi-year delays.
Impact on families and system failures
Kenny described parents coming to TDs because the HSE and early intervention teams are not delivering assessments and supports, forcing some families to seek expensive private care that also has long waitlists. He called the system "completely flawed" and said children are being denied basic services and civil rights.
Call for review and accountability
Kenny directly asked the minister to review the Disability Act 2005 and to ensure HSE early intervention teams carry out assessments without families having to resort to political or legal action. He said the Act, as applied, needs urgent reform to restore timely access to services for children.
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First of all, I want to commend Sinn Fein on this really, really important motion. I think we've debated this for a considerable amount of time over the period I've been in this House in relation to disability service for children. Minister, I think from my point of view and I think my colleagues, we've always tried to be constructive rather than destructive or kind of make politics of it. And sometimes it's difficult not to make politics of issues, but on this issue I think we try to be as constructive as possible. And this issue goes back a considerable amount of time. Like a lot of issues, there's kind of legacy issues in relation to how we treat children and how we treat health service, public health in relation to the country. And what we're talking about is children being denied very, very basic services, very basic civil rights, in my opinion, and I think everybody else's opinion. And once them services are denied, a child's development can be hugely affected in relation to their life expectancy and so forth. And what we had in the last 17 years was quite an incredible situation where the government were breaching their own laws around the Disability Act. And it even got more absurd when families that were trying to get access to the service had to go to the High Court. And 200 families went through that process in relation to getting access to the basics of services. That situation even got more absurd when a High Court judge a couple of weeks ago said that a standard operating procedure was not compatible with the Disability Act. So a High Court judge says the government essentially, you know, through this act is basically breaking their own law. And then families have to, you know, come before the judge to say, look, we're not getting the service that we need, we have to go to the High Court. So you have this absolutely ludicrous situation that we have in this country. So, Minister, will you kind of review the Disability Act of 2005? And the Disability Act in its essence, which was, what, 17 years ago, was actually a good act. It basically gave a timeframe on families where they could get an assessment of needs. And that assessment of needs was six months. And we would all say, if people could get them services, you know, we'd be doing very well. But the reality is very, very different. And the reality is so different. I've said this so many times, but I'll say it again. When somebody comes into my office and the first thing they say is about assessment of needs, my head drops to the ground. Because I know how kind of useless I am in relation to that situation. Because that family is going through this procedure and just kind of mechanism that they have to wait years. And if families are coming to TDs, then the system is completely flawed. Completely flawed. Completely flawed. They should never be coming near TDs. Never come near TDs. They should be coming to the HSE, early intervention team, and, you know, that done procedure started in place to get them services. So families then are kind of denied. Children are denied. And then they're left to their own devices. Where they have to sometimes go private, which is very expensive. And even if you go private now, there are huge wait lists. So the situation is as grave as you want it to get. And then coupled with the situation in relation to the Disability Act. And then in real time and real life, families have to wait up to three and a half years to four years for very, very basic service. I'm talking about speech and language, occupation therapy. And, you know, you want to have a heart to stone when somebody says that about their child. And you know there are only four. And they're going to be seven and a half before they get their service. Like, literally, come on. Like, this country is a wealthy country. You know, it's not poor by any means. It should have the provision for, you know, to treat children in a very, very civil way. So, Minister, my question is, when you sum up, will you review the Disability Act? Because, in my reckoning, it's not fit for purpose. But, there is no doubt. I would have to be Norwegian. There is a very strong force. There is no doubt. I am, but you are not. There is no doubt. There is no doubt. You are not. You are not. There is no doubt. I am. There is no doubt. You are, I am. There is no doubt. There is no doubt. I am. There is no doubt. But, you know, to me, to be a יהper, or to be a new trust. There is a covenant that you must make, meaning that you must make a better place. It is an old hope for every single day. There is not a fact that you must have a good place. There is not a solution to the health.
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