Disability Services
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-21
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John Connolly (FF), Galway West

We all very much welcome the introduction, as the Taoiseach mentioned, of the new therapy and education service that will be implemented in special schools from next September. I very much welcome this for two schools in my constituency, Ábalta Special School and St. Joseph's Special School. One other commitment of the programme for Government - I think it is also included in the strategy in the Taoiseach's Department for tackling child poverty and supporting well-being, which the Taoiseach spoke about earlier - is to implement a single point of access for children referred to primary care, disability or mental health services. We are all familiar with the frustration of parents who are referred for a particular service and, when they visit that service, are advised that it is not the appropriate service for their child. People will be familiar with terms like CAMHS, CAMHS-ID, community psychology, disability network teams and assessments of need. It is crucial that we actively seek to implement a service such that there is no wrong door for the parent, that whatever referral they receive can act on the needs of their child and that these services work together and co-ordinate together to make sure that the child receives the appropriate service they need in a timely manner.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-21/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-21T01:01:08+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-21