Éamon Ó Cuív on therapy shortages and the PDS model
Éamon Ó Cuív addressed shortcomings in early intervention services for young children with disabilities, arguing that universal access promised in the programme for government has not been delivered. He highlighted long waiting lists, recruitment delays and gaps in cover for absences, and called for restored therapy supports in special schools and stronger multidisciplinary teams.
Main points
Ó Cuív said the programme for government aimed to make early intervention services universally available across the state and stressed the importance of outpatient therapies for children with disabilities. He raised questions about what government has done to reduce recruitment delays and to ensure illness and maternity leave are fully covered.
Recruitment and service gaps
He acknowledged there are huge gaps in services, especially in his own constituency, where waiting lists appear endless. Recruitment problems were described as acute in the disability sector, with therapies easier to recruit for in parts of the health service than within disability services.
Assessment of the PDS model
Ó Cuív called the progressing disability services (PDS) model problematic and challenging, noting he had reservations about it prior to joining government. He said a decision was taken to restore therapy supports to special schools that had been redistributed under the wider PDS model.
Coordination with ministers and the HSE
He reported regular engagement with the Minister for Health, the Minister for Education, the Minister for Special Needs Education and the Minister for Disability, and said meetings now include the HSE to tackle recruitment and service coverage issues. Ó Cuív emphasised the need for strong multidisciplinary teams based in education settings.
Local impact and next steps
The speech focused on the practical consequences for families and schools facing long waits for therapies, and outlined ongoing efforts within government structures to address recruitment, absence cover and the allocation of therapy supports.
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One of the objectives of the programme for government was to ensure that early intervention services for young children with disability would be available universally across the state and this is particularly important in terms of therapies the various therapies that children get as outpatients what I'm asking is and I accepted this is a just one department is what has been done by government to ensure that the length of time it's taken to recruit people to provide these therapies and to make sure for example that absences such as illness or maternity leave are covered fully because there are huge gaps in the service particularly in my own constituency I know of huge gaps where there are waiting lists that we see no end to. Yes, I would first of all accept the points that you're making there are huge gaps and the role of the PDS model the progressing disability services in my view has been very problematic and challenging over the years I mean I would have had my own views prior to coming into government in terms of the PDS model and I've engaged with both the Minister for Health, the Minister of Education, the Minister for Special Needs Education, the Minister for Disability Ann Rabbit and we've had a number of meetings and our first decisions to make sure that our first decisions to make sure that special schools would have restored to them therapy supports which had been as part of the wider PDS model had been taken from them and spread to the wider model and there is a philosophy behind the PDS model I have to acknowledge but I believe there needs to be strong multidisciplinary teams in education settings, it's a view I have. Now the recruitment is an issue and within different parts of the health service they can recruit therapies easier than they can for the disability sector it seems and that's a challenge and so we are meeting regularly now to try and deal with this and the HSE being part of those meetings. Thank you very much.
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