Carol Nolan highlights therapy backlogs and warns on service shutdowns
Carol Nolan raised concerns about long therapy waiting lists and the state of disability day services, urging practical solutions and stronger implementation of the UN Convention. She cited figures for Leeshauffele and warned against full shutdowns of services that leave adults with intellectual disabilities and their families struggling.
Therapy waiting lists in Leeshauffele
The deputy noted 1,118 children waiting in excess of 12 months for occupational therapy and 159 children waiting in excess of 12 months for speech therapy in Leeshauffele. She sought immediate attention to these waiting lists as a priority issue.
Proposal to redeploy therapists
She suggested bringing therapists from regions without chronic backlogs into Leeshauffele as a possible short-term solution and said she would support that measure. She asked the minister to consider temporary redeployment while recruitment continues to address the underlying staffing shortfall.
Day services and family impact
She expressed concern that care services for adults with intellectual disabilities were not fully open and reported families saying they could not cope when services closed. She warned that full shutdowns caused regression in adults with disabilities and urged that these services not be fully shut down again.
UN Convention and socio-economic indicators
She welcomed ratification of the UN Convention but insisted it must be matched by action. She highlighted that Ireland has the lowest employment rate for people with disabilities in the EU - almost 20% lower than the EU average of 50.8% - and that poverty rates for people with disabilities are 10% higher than the EU average, placing Ireland among the worst five countries in Europe.
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.
Minister, currently in Leeshauffele, we have 1,118 children waiting in excess of 12 months for occupational therapy, while there are still 159 children waiting in excess of 12 months for speech therapy. And I'm just wondering in relation to that, because I'm not here just to raise the problems, but possible solutions, is there any way as a possible solution that we could bring therapists from other regions where there isn't such a chronic backlog into Leeshauffele to clear the backlog and obviously continue with the recruitment? Would that be a possibility? And I would be very supportive of that. I'm very grateful if that could be looked at. In relation to their care services, then, yes, it is of concern to many families of adults with intellectual disabilities that their care services are still not fully open. I know you're doing your best with that and I want to commend you for the work you are doing. But also, Minister, it came to my attention that people were saying to me they really can't cope, that if these services were to be all shut down again, it had such a negative impact on people's well-being, on the adults with disabilities, their well-being. And they were pleading with me, to raise it with you, that there would not be a full shutdown of this service again in the future, because people did regress and those adults need every support they can get and indeed the families. In regard to the UN Convention, we ratified that and that was certainly the most positive development in this country for a while. And I would just ask that that be matched with actions. For example, Ireland has the lowest employment rate for people with disabilities in the EU. It's almost 20% lower than the EU average of 50.8%. And if we look at the poverty rates for people with disabilities, they're 10% higher than the EU average. Ireland ranks among the worst five countries in Europe. I genuinely feel that we need these things resolved, along with the other issues that exist, if we are to be truly inclusive and truly supportive of people with disabilities. Thank you very much.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
