Brendan Smith TD says he is inundated with calls from distressed and frustrated parents of children with special needs in Cavan and Monaghan who are waiting on critical therapies.
Waiting lists for speech and language, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and medical treatments like dentistry in Cavan and Monaghan are growing by the day. Delays in interventions for children with additional needs in turn delays their development and education prospects.
Fianna Fáil TD for Cavan-Monaghan Brendan Smith raised the issue with the Taoiseach in the Dáil yesterday. He told Micheál Martin he talks to parents in this constituency "every day who are so frustrated" by the lack of interventions at the appropriate time for their children.
The Taoiseach responded by saying the new government's Programme for Government "100% provides for the establishment of a national therapy service in education, which will be progressed." Deputy Smith said called for more urgency adding that "parents need to be listened to":