Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 June 2026
80. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on CDNT waiting lists for assessments and therapies in County Galway; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46889/26]
View answerThe Government is committed to ensuring that children with disabilities and their families who need early intervention and therapy input can access that support in a timely way.
Children's Disability Network Teams (CDNTs) provide services to children to complex needs arising from their disability under the progressing disability services model of service delivery. The CDNTs operate a interdisciplinary model and do not provide uni-disciplinary support/intervention.
Waiting lists for specific therapy interventions are not collated on this basis.
The HSE have indicated that there 3,891 children currently accessing CDNT services, across Galway City and County including Roscommon at the end of May 2026 and that a further 290 children are waitlisted to access services.
The waitlist is broken down by CDNT as follows:
CDNT 4 (West Galway) 18
CDNT 5 (West Galway City Enable Ireland) 69
CDNT 6 (Central Galway & East Gal. City Corlann) 46
CDNT 7 (Tuam, Athenry & Loughrea) 72
CDNT 8 (East Galway & South Roscommon) 3
CDNT 9 (Roscommon North & East Galway) 82
Whilst recognising that there is more to do, real progress has been made in reducing the Children’s Disability Network Team waiting list. Health Service Executive preliminary data indicates that the national Children’s Disability Network Team waiting list has reduced by 50%, from 16,522 children awaiting an initial contact in 2023, to 8,200 children at the end of February 2026.
The Government has provided funding for additional posts to enhance the capacity of Children’s Disability Network Teams and shorten the waiting times in recent years, with further investment in both Budgets 2025 and 2026 to fund additional therapy posts and clinical trainee places.
The overall Health Service Executive Disability Budget for 2026 has seen a growth to more than €3.8 billion, which equates to a nearly 20% increase from the previous year.
