Joe O'Reilly urges debate on neurodevelopmental assessments and waiting lists
Joe O'Reilly spoke in the House and called for an immediate parliamentary debate on waiting lists, assessment and treatment for neurodevelopmental differences, urging the Leader to invite the Minister with Responsibility for Disabilities. He also introduced guests in the gallery, acknowledging Ivan Doherty and former colleague Sean Byrne.
Mr O'Reilly opened by welcoming as a personal guest the former General Secretary of Fine Gael, Ivan Doherty, and acknowledged former colleague Sean Byrne in the gallery. He described Ivan Doherty as having made a significant contribution to democracy in Ireland and noted his later roles with the National Democratic Institute in America and as a senior executive with Apple.
Mr O'Reilly asked the Leader to prioritise a debate in the House in which the Minister with Responsibility for Disabilities, Minister Hildegard Nocton, would inform members about current status and plans. He specifically requested that the Minister set out where the State stands on waiting lists and assessments for neurodevelopmental differences and what steps are in place for subsequent treatment.
Mr O'Reilly sought precise information on waiting lists - for assessment and for treatment - and asked what stratagems and strategies the Minister has to address these issues. He said he wished to contribute to the debate and urged it be scheduled "very, very soon."
He framed the issue as a test of society's character, saying the mark of a society is how it treats people who have challenges, and described the current time of plenty as an opportunity to address the matter. He concluded by repeating an Irish phrase from the gallery and appealed again to the Leader to make the debate one of the first initiatives.
Guest acknowledgements
Mr O'Reilly opened by welcoming as a personal guest the former General Secretary of Fine Gael, Ivan Doherty, and acknowledged former colleague Sean Byrne in the gallery. He described Ivan Doherty as having made a significant contribution to democracy in Ireland and noted his later roles with the National Democratic Institute in America and as a senior executive with Apple.
Request for a specific debate
Mr O'Reilly asked the Leader to prioritise a debate in the House in which the Minister with Responsibility for Disabilities, Minister Hildegard Nocton, would inform members about current status and plans. He specifically requested that the Minister set out where the State stands on waiting lists and assessments for neurodevelopmental differences and what steps are in place for subsequent treatment.
Questions on waiting lists and strategies
Mr O'Reilly sought precise information on waiting lists - for assessment and for treatment - and asked what stratagems and strategies the Minister has to address these issues. He said he wished to contribute to the debate and urged it be scheduled "very, very soon."
Moral framing and closing appeal
He framed the issue as a test of society's character, saying the mark of a society is how it treats people who have challenges, and described the current time of plenty as an opportunity to address the matter. He concluded by repeating an Irish phrase from the gallery and appealed again to the Leader to make the debate one of the first initiatives.
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 urges action on rural water crisis
Richard Boyd Barrett
Richard Boyd Barrett: Government Serving Vulture Funds, Not Renters
Paul Murphy
Paul Murphy on AI: Jobs, Energy and Big Tech Control
George Lawlor
George Lawlor urges rights-based AI, reskilling and platform reform
Michael Collins
Michael Collins urges state apology over Whitty Island disaster
Rose Conway-Walsh
Rose Conway-Walsh urges government to build AI expertise
Transcript
At the outset, I am very delighted today to be hosting as a personal guest the distinguished former General Secretary of Fine Gael and to acknowledge him here in the gallery alongside our former colleague Sean Byrne over there. Ivan Doherty was a distinguished General Secretary of Fine Gael and made a very big contribution to democracy in Ireland and then became an executive with the National Democratic Institute in America, continuing that work and is currently a senior executive with Apple. So he has had a great career of public service and I want to say that I am delighted to have him here today with us. I think the most sensitive, and I am addressing this specifically through you to the Leader, one of the most sensitive appointments in the last government and important appointments has been the appointment of Deputy Hildegard Nocton, now Minister Hildegard Nocton, to the area of Minister with Responsibility for Disabilities. And I am asking you, Leader, as one of your priority items, to ask the Minister into this House for a specific debate as to where she informs us, where are we at in terms of waiting lists, et cetera, for neurodevelopmental differences, for assessment of those and for subsequent treatment. Where are we at in that sphere? And where does she see us going and what stratagems and strategies has she in place to deal with this? I think we need this debate. It's a debate I'd like to contribute to and I think we should have it very, very soon. So I'm appealing to you, Leader, to do this. As I said on my opening day here, on the opening day, the mark of a society is how it treats people who have challenges, and this is a great opportunity in this current time of plenty in the country that we deal with this issue. So I look forward to this debate. I'm appealing to you, Leader, to make this one of your first initiatives. Go rae maa aga ade kaira li. Go rae maa aga ade kaira li. Hello. Amen. So I like the persons who have to determine the fields. If I have to achieve obviously your own basis here, it can over rahat, and so I will they say the Son Corbat word? Let's highlightody, a false statement. Thank you so much for all of us.