Disabilities Assessments
Dail Éireann — 2026-06-23
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Ruairí Ó Murchú (SF), Louth

It goes without saying that the figure of 21,782 should be shocking. Unfortunately, it is not. The figure in my own area, HSE Dublin and North East, is 6,608. As the Minister of State has said, behind each of these figures is a child and a family. None of this is good enough. We sometimes come in here and talk about CDNTs and the number of unfilled positions. I will work on the basis that the number of vacancies is still in the high 300s. Even if we had double that number, I am not sure the CDNTs would be able to deal with the need that is out there. We have had many interactions in relation to this recently. Many people have bought into the idea of putting the resources where they are needed, which is to say, in school therapies. It is going to be very difficult if we do not look at the whole gamut from assessments right through to therapies. We are constantly trying to change little bits rather than looking at the overall picture and putting in place a framework that delivers for the children and families out there.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-06-23/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:06+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-23