Carol Nolan urges private therapists to clear disability assessment backlog
Carol Nolan said the assessment of needs system is broken and called for hiring private therapists to clear a serious backlog. She cited 530 children waiting in her constituency, raised concerns about CHO area 8 and Leigh Shoffley, and urged respect for therapists and a revolution in service delivery.
In her remarks she set out that there are 530 children waiting for an assessment of need in her constituency, counting two Children's Disability Network Teams (CDNT) that cover Offaly and North Leash, East Offaly. She also highlighted a serious backlog in CHO area 8 and named Leigh Shoffley as an example of long-standing problems.
She argued that pragmatic solutions are required, specifically calling to hire private therapists to clear the backlog while continuing recruitment into public services. She said bringing in private therapists is one such immediate option to address unprecedented levels of demand.
She questioned why the HSC cannot hire therapists and warned that there is a culture within the HSC and the wider political system that appears immune to effective action. She described the problem as going beyond organisational and structural issues and said something is profoundly wrong at a fundamental level.
She commended parents, disability advocates and therapists, urged that therapists be listened to, respected and trusted, and called for a revolution in understanding of service delivery if children's rights are to be honoured. She stressed the need to focus on delivering real change rather than repeating that the system is broken.
Her remarks ended amid a heated procedural exchange in which she challenged a Deputy over timekeeping and respect for the Chair after being told she was over time. She protested being told to calm down and urged respect for the rules and the Chair.
Backlog and local figures
In her remarks she set out that there are 530 children waiting for an assessment of need in her constituency, counting two Children's Disability Network Teams (CDNT) that cover Offaly and North Leash, East Offaly. She also highlighted a serious backlog in CHO area 8 and named Leigh Shoffley as an example of long-standing problems.
Proposed solution - private therapists and recruitment
She argued that pragmatic solutions are required, specifically calling to hire private therapists to clear the backlog while continuing recruitment into public services. She said bringing in private therapists is one such immediate option to address unprecedented levels of demand.
Critique of the HSC and political culture
She questioned why the HSC cannot hire therapists and warned that there is a culture within the HSC and the wider political system that appears immune to effective action. She described the problem as going beyond organisational and structural issues and said something is profoundly wrong at a fundamental level.
Support for therapists and children's rights
She commended parents, disability advocates and therapists, urged that therapists be listened to, respected and trusted, and called for a revolution in understanding of service delivery if children's rights are to be honoured. She stressed the need to focus on delivering real change rather than repeating that the system is broken.
Parliamentary exchange on procedure
Her remarks ended amid a heated procedural exchange in which she challenged a Deputy over timekeeping and respect for the Chair after being told she was over time. She protested being told to calm down and urged respect for the rules and the Chair.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Other speeches
Tego samego dnia All speeches from this day →
Danny Healy-Rae
Danny Healy-Rae demands urgent action on disability assessments
Sharon Keogan
Sharon Keogan slams 27-week driving test delays as 'planning failure'
George Lawlor
George Lawlor on derelict buildings and rapid reallocation of voids
Mary Lou McDonald
Deputy Mary Lou McDonald- speech from 20 May 2025
Mattie McGrath
Mattie McGrath: Condemns HSE over failures and 8 million spent
Brendan Smith
Brendan Smith warns Garda reconfiguration endangers border policing
Transcript
I want to begin my brief remarks here today by commending not just the parents and the disability advocates who are highlighting this issue, I also want to commend and applaud all of those therapists who are demoralised and who are forced to work in a system that is just not fit for purpose and against a level of demand that is simply unprecedented. There seems to be very little point in standing up here yet again and simply repeating that the assessment of needs system is broken. We all know that. We all know that there are thousands of children and families whose entire lives are put on hold because of it. What we need to focus on is pragmatic solutions and one such solution is to hire private therapists to clear the backlog. There is a serious backlog in many areas, CHO area 8 in particular, Leigh Shoffley, very bad and has been for many years and I think that is where the focus needs to go to bring in the private therapists and continue on with the recruitment. In my own constituency there are 530 children waiting for an assessment of need and if the two CDNT teams which are the Children's Disability Network teams that cover Offaly and North Leash, East Offaly are included, that is the figure 530. Why is it that emergencies like this go on for so long? Why is it that there is a lack of urgency and why is it that the HSC cannot hire therapists? What is it about the culture of the HSC and indeed the political culture that seems almost immune to effective action? There is something profoundly wrong at a fundamental level that goes way beyond the organisational and the structural. We have the will but despite all the apparent best efforts of government the crisis goes on and on and so many children are failed and left behind. Why are so many of our children in need of complex disability interventions? What has happened to generate this level of demand? We must listen to therapists working in the field. We must respect them. We must support them. We must trust their judgement as to what it will take to deliver real change. There can be more top-down approaches to this crisis. We need a revolution in our understanding of service delivery if we were to have any chance of honouring the rights of children. Deputy, you are out of time. You are now 20 seconds out of time. You are now 20 seconds over time. No, no, no. Don't tell me to calm down. Please, Deputy. Deputy, have a small bit of respect. I appreciate you don't have any respect for me but have respect for the Chair. Everybody brings their speech, prepares their speech in the time they are allotted, Deputy. I would think at this stage, Deputy, you have been a member of this House long enough now, Deputy. Long enough to know those rules. Thank you.