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Government must address assessment of needs waiting list - Deputy Clarke

02 Noll

“I was alarmed to hear the Minister of State with responsibility for Disability, Anne Rabbitte, confirm in the Seanad last week that the current backlog for assessment of needs stands at just under 4,000. This is a massive increase from just 500 in the summer of 2021.

“Data from the HSE confirms that there are a total of 2,720 applications overdue for completion and a further 1254 applications overdue to commence second stage.

“Sixty eight percent of the applications overdue for completion are more than three months outside of the statutory deadline of six months and this does not include any assessments that have been put on hold.

“The Minister of State has serious questions to answer in relation to this matter. She needs to explain how this backlog has arisen and the measures that will be taken to address it.

“A survey from ‘As I Am’ in the summer of this year of parents of children with autism stated that 80 percent were waiting for more than one year for an assessment of needs.

“On top of the issues in relation to waiting lists, I am informed that children are having difficulties in accessing supports as they are not receiving official diagnosis, which is often required to access these supports.

“I am calling on the Minister of State to urgently address the current waiting list for assessment of needs and ensure that the process is reformed so that all information required to ensure children can access supports is provided in a timely manner,” Teachta Clarke said.

Mother and Baby Home survivors must receive fair redress

Meanwhile, Deputy Clarke has called on her fellow public representatives in Dáil Éireann to support a motion which would ensure the Mother and Baby Homes redress scheme meets the needs of survivors.

The motion was debated in the Dáil this week and would ensure that the needs of survivors are respected in the government’s redress scheme.

This would include urgently reviewing issues survivors have identified within the scheme such as time-based criteria, the exclusion of children who were boarded out, access to the enhanced Medical Card and the failure to include some institutions.

The motion also calls on the Government to immediately seek recourse from religious orders and pharmaceutical companies to contribute to the redress scheme.

It has cross-party support among the opposition.

“Sinn Féin are bringing a cross-party motion before the Dáil that would ensure the redress scheme is changed to meet the needs of Mother and Baby Home survivors.

“It’s time to respect Mother and Baby Homes survivors and their families.

“We are bringing this motion to stand up for survivors and ensure that their needs are respected. Survivors bravely came forward and told their stories, because they wanted to seek justice. However, many have been left feeling deeply frustrated and let down by the appalling way in which the redress scheme has been designed.

“The scheme is an insult to survivors and totally fails to take into account their needs. This isn’t good enough. This government has failed survivors time and time again. This has to stop.

“This motion stands with survivors and calls on the government to change the redress scheme to be fairer to them. The motion has cross-party support among the opposition.

“The motion would ensure the government must urgently review the scheme’s time-based criteria, exclusion of children who were boarded out, access to the enhanced Medical Card, proposed payment rates and end the unfair exclusion of some survivors and institutions.

“It also calls on the Government to seek immediate and substantive recourse from religious orders and pharmaceutical companies to contribute to the redress scheme.

“I am calling on all Deputies across the Dáil to back this cross-party motion and do right by survivors. This is the very least that survivors deserve. The government has treated them with complete contempt time and time again and it is long overdue that they be respected and that their needs are met.

“It is vital that the government engages with survivors, not just as a box ticking exercise but to genuinely listen to them and then act urgently to meet their needs.

“The government must do the right thing here and back this important motion when it comes before the Dáil on Tuesday. It is time to respect survivors and their families,” Teachta Clarke asserted.