Vol. 1088 No. 2
1. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide an update on the progress of the establishment of the new autism assessment service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47690/26]
I ask the Minister of State to provide an update on the progress of the establishment of a new autism assessment service. We all know about the issue that exists. We are talking about more than 20,000 on the assessment of need waiting lists, many of them over the six months in which that should be provided legally. There are a huge number of parents out there who can get neither an assessment nor the therapies their child requires. We really need to solve this for the parents out there.
I thank the Deputy for this question. On 26 May, the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, Deputy Foley and I, along with the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, and the HSE were pleased to launch the new autism assessment and intervention pathway protocol - the autism protocol.
The new protocol represents an important step in ensuring that children and adults have access to appropriate and timely autism assessment processes. The new protocol will, for the very first time, provide a standardised assessment process across children's disability network teams, primary care and mental health services.
Evidence tells us that some presentations of autism are easier to identify than others. Informed by this evidence, the HSE has designed a protocol that will introduce a three-tiered approach to autism assessment. It will match the intensity of assessment to the complexity of the presentation, as decided by the assessing clinicians. It is a pathway designed specifically for autism assessment, and this includes differential assessment and diagnosis, as required, as well as the development of a formulation to provide clearer understanding of the person's lived experience and the services and supports they may require.
The autism protocol has been developed over a period of five years, with input from people with lived experience, civil society and all clinical disciplines involved in assessments as well as managers and service leaders across disability, primary care and mental health services.
To support the implementation of this, my Department secured funding in this year's budget for the development of inreach teams. These will consist of a psychologist, a speech and language therapist, an occupational therapist and a case worker. These teams will work with the health areas to support and to build capacity within community services, including mental health and primary care teams as well as our CDNTs.
Implementation planning for the protocol within the regions will commence in quarter 3 of this year and will include relative briefing and training within the regional healthcare areas. We are providing training in the meantime, until that point.
I ask the Minister of State to give the exact timelines when she gets an opportunity again-----
Sure. I understand.
-----because, obviously, it is vital that we see this. It is also a matter of knowing how these assessments will be made. Some have said they would be worried about how the assessment officer or whoever makes the clinical determination. It is about ensuring that there would be a sufficient amount of clinical backup. We all accept that if we were starting again, we would have to look at a different system as regards assessment of need and how therapies are provided. I have always had a worry about how we will try to ensure we have enough of a workforce as regards therapists, whether we are talking about the inreach teams, CDNTs or primary care. In addition, I ask the Minister of State to give the up-to-date figure for the assessment-of-need waiting list and how she sees this impacting that.
To be clear on the timelines, since the Deputy specifically asked, this is now launched. It will be rolled out in quarter 3 of this year. Right now, we are working with teams across the country to upskill and to train them on this new system of autism protocol and pathways. It is expected that when it is fully rolled out, each of the 20 integrated health areas will have one established inreach team. This year we will recruit 11 inreach teams. The final design and respective roles of the teams are being finalised. Recruitment for those inreach teams will commence in quarter 3 and quarter 4 of this year and they will be, as the Deputy referred to them in his remarks, the backup for the system. While it is not possible to quantify the exact impact at this stage in terms of assessments, it is anticipated that the successful implementation of the autism protocol will help to reduce demand for assessment of need, which the Deputy also mentioned. It will do that through the provision of a more direct and a clearer path to autism assessment for children and their families. To be clear, however, this does not in any way impact anybody's statutory right to an assessment of need. It is just a clearer access pathway through existing services such as primary care, our children's disability network teams and CAMHS, should people with an appropriate route to an assessment require one.
I understand that your right to an assessment of need remains, but the fact is that these are attempts to reduce the waiting list. We all know that what parents want to see is a better form or means of assessment and provision of therapies. We need to ensure we have a proper framework that works. I will ask again about an aspect of this matter that I have asked about in a further question which I imagine will not get answered tonight. At this point in time, what are the numbers for the assessment of need waiting list and, as I said, specifically the number that is above the six months that are legally required to provide that service for families? We all know the issues that exist out there. The problem is that parents and children are really suffering from the fact that we have not put a proper framework in place to provide the therapies and the constant assessment, which is the best means of doing this, to provide something that works.
I agree with much of what the Deputy says. This is an attempt to provide alternative means for assessments. There will be three tiers in this autism assessment and intervention pathway protocol. Tier 1 is for an assessment with clear presentations of autism, tier 2 is a more detailed assessment for unclear causes using structured tools and input from multiple professionals, and tier 3 is an assessment for more complex presentations involving additional specialists and further reports. I know the Deputy has a further parliamentary question. I think it is No. 19. The updated figure we have is that there are 21,782 applications overdue for completion. That was as at the end of March. The figures we have are on a quarterly basis, so that is the most up-to-date figure we have this quarter.
2. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her plans to publish a detailed timeframe, including milestones and key performance indicators, for the provision of €200-per-month childcare, as set out in the commitments in the programme for Government. [47642/26]
Affordable, accessible childcare provision is vital for the proper functioning of our society and our economy. What plans does the Minister have to publish a detailed timeframe, including milestones and key performance indicators, for the provision of €200-per-month childcare, as set out in the commitments in the programme for Government?
I wish Deputy Ennis well in his new position as spokesperson for his party on all matters to do with children. I acknowledge his predecessor, Deputy Farrelly, who gave 110% to his spokesmanship. I wish him well in his new appointment. I think he is in transport now, is he?
Yes.
I wish him well regardless of where he has moved to. Anyway, I welcome Deputy Ennis.
In relation to the question he has asked, I have always been clear in communicating that the €200-per-month programme for Government commitment is to be achieved over the lifetime of this Government. Shaping the Future: Early Years Action Plan, Phase 1 Report, published last December, sets out measures to achieve key programme for Government commitments on the affordability, quality and accessibility of early learning and care and school-age childcare. The action plan adopts a phased approach that enables action to be taken in 2026 while allowing adequate time for a broad public consultation and analysis on longer term actions.
The consultation process has a number of channels designed to facilitate the participation of a wide range of stakeholders. It includes an online survey which has received more than 11,000 responses; 56 local consultation events right across the country; an art-based engagement exercise with children; and a national consultation event, which is scheduled to take place later in the year. Results of this consultation, and additional analysis, will inform phase 2 of the plan. Phase 2 will set out actions to be undertaken from 2027 right through to the end of 2029.
The fee freeze and maximum fee caps required for core funding have been key to the progress in recent years in making ELC and SAC services more affordable. The 2026 actions on affordability will include further reduction in some of the highest fees paid by parents by lowering the maximum fees that core funding partner services can charge. In addition, from autumn 2026, we will reduce out-of-pocket costs for lower income families through the national childcare scheme.
In the lead-up to the last election, the Tánaiste promised to cap childcare fees at €200 per month, and that was to do with the early stage of the Government. His words were exactly these:
I actually believe the cost bit we can deliver quite quickly. I believe it can be delivered in the early time of the government.
Not the end. Last week, on a podcast, he said that we would not get there by the next budget, that that was never the commitment - again, his words - and that the commitment was over the lifetime of the Government, as the Minister mentioned. Once again the goalposts seem to have moved. Timelines seem to have moved. The targets are moving yet again. What commitment is this Government giving such that we will not see broken promises before an election again? Not only are we so far from the €200-per-month reduction that was promised again in the programme for Government; we are yet to see a clear roadmap on how this reduction will take place. Again, the same roadmap was promised by the Tánaiste. Goalposts are being moved.
In his words again, it was to be within the Government's first 100 days. We are now 500 days into the lifetime of this Government. It is just not good enough or quick enough for families that are struggling.
In the interests of clarity, we must be clear that after any election there is a negotiation with various parties to make up a Government. As part of that, a programme for Government is written down and committed to. Those are the plans which will be committed to over the lifetime of the Government. I was involved in the writing of the programme for Government. When that was being done, the commitment was clear. This Government involves a number of parties and individuals. The programme for Government lays out that over the lifetime of the Government, the cap of €200 will be achieved. There is no deviation in that regard. There is no equivocation. It was made clear when the Government was formed.
As already stated, there has been progress in terms of a reduction in costs for low-income families. The lower income threshold for the income-assessed subsidy has been increased from €26,000 to €34,000 in order to ensure that families with incomes below the relative poverty income line receive the maximum subsidy. There has also been an increase in the upper threshold.
I take on board what the Minister is saying. I do not hold out much hope. Time and again, the Government has treated childcare as an afterthought. As a father of two, this is something I live with every day. Childcare costs are crippling families. I knocked on close to 40,000 doors, and it came up quite a lot. We were not seeing it much in representations or emails, but it certainly came up in the one-to-one conversations. The Government has failed so many times in respect of this promise. We are talking about getting costs down. We are a long way from the €200 per month cap. The average cost of childcare is €850 per month. Ireland is an outlier in Europe. We are not moving quick enough with this. I hope to see this happening sharpish. Working with the Minister on the committee, we hope to do that. I do not hold out much hope, however. That was a promise before the election that I was hoping would be delivered for my family and many others. This problem is not just in Dublin Central, it is right across the country. Families are crippled.
I look forward to working with the Deputy at the committee. Just to be clear, 25% of families are already on the €50 per week or are paying less than that. I absolutely accept that there is much more work to do. In recent weeks, we have introduced the fee caps. The full cost for families availing of just less than 50 hours' service - this is the full day service that the vast majority of parents are availing of - is €198 per week. That is when the national childcare subsidy is included. That will now be reduced to €183 per week. We are seeing progress.
I already mentioned something that has been fought very hard for by so many different people in terms of children at risk of disadvantage, namely that the thresholds have been increased from €26,000 to €34,000 and from €60,000 to €68,000 in order to maximise people's access to the national childcare subsidy. Some progress has been made. There is more progress to be made, and we will continue that through phase 2 of the action plan.
3. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide an update on the roll-out of State-led childcare facilities; when the eight locations for this year will be chosen; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47735/26]
I want to begin by wishing Deputy Ennis well. I look forward to working with him both in the House and on the committee. I congratulate him on his appointment.
I want to ask the Minister about the eight locations that will be chosen this year for the State-led childcare facilities, which is something I very much welcome. I would really appreciate an update on where we are at and when we will see those locations announced, particularly as we come to the halfway point in the year.
I appreciate the Deputy's interest in this matter. She has advocated very strongly in respect of it. I can confirm that €135 million is being made available between 2026 and 2030 for the State-led early learning and childcare capital programme to facilitate the provision high-quality and accessible early learning and childcare. The process begins this year, with investment in buildings in what is a groundbreaking initiative for the Department of children. Capital funding will be used to acquire and-or fit out buildings depending on requirements.
The Department will work with not-for-profit providers to design, open and operate services. These will be not-for-profit services. To assess potential sites, a forward planning model has been developed. The model seeks to identify the nature and volume of different types of early learning and childcare places across the country, and how that aligns with the number of children in the corresponding age cohorts at local level. An extensive data analysis exercise has been undertaken to map available publicly subsidised supply.
As well as a forward planning model, a suite of appraisal criteria and tools is being developed in order to assess potential adjustment and alignment of projects with Department goals of promoting equality, inclusion, accessibility and affordability. The Department is assessing project options in order to identify which are best placed to deliver on the goals of the programme. Analysis of project options is advancing well. Project proposals can be brought to the attention of the Department through completion of a preliminary appraisal form, which is available from the city and county childcare committees. When a suitable project is brought to the Department, the forward planning and delivery unit develops a preliminary business case. The preliminary business case assesses the building and the location associated with the project against the programme's appraisal criteria, as well as analysing cost, value for money and the quality of the proposed building. The preliminary business case is considered by a capital steering group comprising senior Department officials and members from the Office of Public Works and the Department of Education and Youth. It can then be submitted for approval in principle. It is important to note that this is not a guarantee of funding for a project; it is, rather, another step along the way. Following approval in principle, a final business case is developed for the project which includes selection of an eligible operator, agreement of investment or purchasing a building, and detailed building design and costing work.
I welcome this, but we all know, and it is no secret to say, that eight locations will be announced this year to provide, I understand, about 800 places. We have to look at the level of need. We know there are between 40,000 and 50,000 children on waiting lists across the State. Ahead of the budget, I want to ask the Minister again about the next phase of building blocks, given the level of need and demand that exists. I met IBEC last week to discuss women in particular not being able to return to the workforce. They now see access to childcare as a major labour market issue. We have the impact, typically, on the mother but also on the family as a whole and the child. There there is the ability to work, pay tax, get out in the morning and have your child in a safe place where they are looked after and educated, in many cases for the entire day. I want to ask about building blocks and extending it to purchase existing buildings rather than just focusing on new builds, simply in view of the level of need.
I agree entirely in terms of what we are seeking to achieve in early years. It is equality of opportunity for children in the first instance. That is probably the most important element, but it is much more as well. It is also equality of opportunity for women in many respects in order to allow them, as the Deputy outlined, to go out and take up other opportunities should they choose to do so.
I want to comment on where we are at currently. The final business case is considered by the capital steering group prior to being submitted for approval. Only once a final business case has been developed, which provides full details of a project, can final approval for funding be sought. To date, four projects have received approval in principle and are being developed. A further five projects are being prepared for submission for approval in principle. No final decisions have been made on the specific projects, but I look forward to sharing the details of the projects as they are agreed. Local city and county childcare committees are supporting the development of projects. In that context, community early learning and childcare operators, local authorities, developers and others who might have suitable premises or projects should contact their local committee.
On building blocks, everything is being considered in the context of the budget. We will see how we go with that.
I know I am like a broken record, but it would be remiss of me not to mention Boyle in north Roscommon. The needs analysis, which was very well done, showed that the national benchmark is 20 childcare places per 75 households. In the town of Boyle and in the surrounding rural area, there are 20 childcare places per 1,043 households. There is a real need in Boyle, and that has been proven through the needs analysis I shared with the Minister and the forward planning unit, which very kindly gave us an extremely helpful briefing this morning on the model.
A former childcare facility on the outskirts of Boyle has become available again. It was available and then it was not. It is now available again. The childcare committee has passed on the information in that regard. We have a unique opportunity now. It is a purpose-built facility and is ready to go. That is a project that really needs to be looked at in terms of the eight overall projects. Again, I would love to see building blocks extended. We have so many empty buildings in the State. Let us use them for childcare and for communities.
I acknowledge the Deputy's advocacy on an ongoing basis. I get that from Deputy Martin Daly, from councillors and from everybody across the system. They are very well situated to advocate. I get it from my Fine Gael colleagues as well. We are very conscious of the fact that State-led is one element while Building Blocks is another. If we can pour more into both or, indeed, other initiatives, we are happy to do so.
It is a significant step forward in terms of State-led. We have never done this before and we are able to stand up eight this year. The Deputy specifically referenced buildings being made available. That is the purpose of State-led at this point, in that where buildings are readily available, we can access them quite quickly and move on to finding not-for-profit providers. Be assured that everything is in the mix for this forthcoming budget and we consider everything, including Building Blocks. We have had a scheme this year and in the previous year.
4. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her attention has been drawn to the fact that no childcare facility has been built within the new national children’s hospital, and if she has raised this with the Minister for Health. [47221/26]
I wish Deputy Ennis the very best in his new role and look forward to working with him on childcare.
I have raised the matter with the Minister for Health. Indeed, I have forwarded the Deputy's question to her for her attention because it is a matter that is more directly within her remit. The Department of Children, Disability and Equality does not determine the use of buildings when it is not involved in funding them. The design of buildings and the designation of space within them, including for the purposes of early learning and childcare, is a matter for the owners of the building in accordance with the wider planning legislation. Individual planning decisions are a function of planning authorities and An Coimisiún Pleanála is statutorily independent in the performance of these functions.
The 2001 planning guidelines for local authorities and childcare facilities were issued under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 by the Minister for housing. The guidelines are intended to ensure a consistent approach to the treatment of planning applications in respect of the land use planning aspects of early learning and childcare provisions. The guidelines propose appropriate locations for early learning and childcare facilities, including in the vicinity of concentrations of workplaces where significant numbers of staff are employed.
While the 2001 planning guidelines have contributed to the delivery of a substantial level of early learning and childcare infrastructure, I am also aware that there are challenges in implementing the guidelines. The Government is committed to reviewing the guidelines to ensure early learning and childcare spaces are provided and put into use. The Planning and Development Act 2024 and the revised national planning framework, along with the ongoing work on Shaping the Future, the phase 2 action plan for the development of the early learning and childcare sector, provides a strong basis from which to pursue this work.
Separately, the Department of Children, Disability and Equality has been liaising with Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage with regard to the planning process as set out in the planning and development regulations of 2001. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has confirmed that the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality will be designated as a prescribed body to be notified by local authorities of planning applications that might give rise to a change in the demand from early learning and childcare provision. This is a really positive step forward for us in the Department.
That is a very comprehensive reply. I have a couple of questions arising from it. The Minister sent my question to the Minister for Health. Has the Minister for Health come back to the Minister on this? Does the Minister, Deputy Foley, agree with us all that it beggars belief that, when we are spending so much money on the children's hospital, we are not spending any money within that hospital on childcare facilities, given what Deputies Ennis and Kerrane have said about the lack of childcare facilities right throughout the country and the fact that the Minister comes in here every month and tells us that she is doing her best? I have no doubt that she is, but we are spending up to €2 billion on the children's hospital when, as the Minister stated, we are looking at somewhere in the vicinity to have childcare facilities. Given the need for childcare facilities in such a facility and the fact that we want to ensure that consultants and all those employed in the hospital can actually get to work and increase the number of women in particular who can go back to work, does the Minister agree with us that this is a missed opportunity at the very least and somebody needs to come back to us as quickly as possible?
To be fair to the Minister for Health, this has just been brought to her attention. She is going to look into it, she has a copy of the Deputy's question and I have no doubt she will revert. We would have to examine whether this the norm in hospitals across the country. Only the Minister for Health can confirm that.
I have to say that the guidelines themselves actually refer to within "the vicinity". I am not saying that these guidelines are perfect, and we have had discussions here before where we were looking for them to be updated. I have raised the matter with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and there is a piece of work ongoing on that.
I appreciate the Deputy's bona fides in raising this matter. It is outside my remit but I accept the goodwill of the Minister for Health, who has said that she will look at it.
I will take up the Minister's second point, or maybe the other point that she made, about planning guidelines. Is she telling the House that she will now be consulted on all planning applications and that this is a first for the Department of Children, Disability and Equality? Has the Department never been consulted on projects such as this because if that is the case, it is worrying? It is an opportunity for us all to get involved in the planning process but, more importantly, her Department will now be involved in planning applications as we move forward, given the lack of childcare that we have all mentioned.
Will the Minister confirm that her Department was not previously involved in planning applications as one of the bodies that would be asked to comment on them and that that has changed? Obviously, that will be positive going forward. Is her Department now getting involved in such planning applications?
The Deputy and anybody who has served in a local authority will be aware of prescribed bodies that are consulted in terms of what is coming before the local authority. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage has consented and confirmed that the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality will now be one of the prescribed bodies to be notified by local authorities of a planning application that might give rise to a change in the demand for early learning and childcare provision. For example, I think we are all very aware that where permission has been granted for a childcare facility for whatever reason, a further application can be made down the line for a change of use, which is something that is granted by local authorities very frequently. This new departure will give us an opportunity to make our observations and make our case that this really should not be allowed. If it is designated as an early years and childcare facility, it should serve the community. That is what it is there for. This will be really helpful and I am appreciative of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in this regard.
5. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will ensure increased investment in voluntary residential care services for children in the care of the State; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47736/26]
I wish to ask the Minister about voluntary residential care services in our State in terms of looking after some of our most vulnerable children, namely, children in the care of the State. I recently visited a voluntary residential service and was really impressed. It was literally like walking into any other family home in the country. I want to ask the Minister specifically about investment in these voluntary, not-for-profit services. Targets have been set for increased capacity by Tusla but they have not materialised.
I know that the vast majority of Members will agree with me that the preferred option for children coming into the care of the State is foster care. It is the first option. This is where almost nine in every ten children in care are placed. However, Tusla operates in a very challenging and demand-led environment providing vital services to children, young people and families that often present with particularly complex issues, and foster care might not meet their needs. Tusla has acknowledged the need to increase its provision of residential placements, including those provided by community and voluntary organisations. Like the Deputy, I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the incredible work done by staff in community and voluntary organisations to provide safe and supportive placements for children in care. I was really pleased to meet with representatives of the community and voluntary sector in January of this year to discuss matters affecting them and the children for whom they provide care.
It is important to note that the State has invested significantly in community and voluntary care provision, with the sector being allocated an increase in funding of €5.2 million in 2023 to ensure its ongoing sustainability. I was also pleased to see community and voluntary workers agree to a pay increase of 9.25% last year, ensuring that voluntary workers are better paid for their very valuable work.
I am conscious that Tusla is independent in its functions and it is a matter for the agency to manage and allocate resources, including voluntary residential provision, to address areas of greatest need while managing within its allocated budget. In 2025, Tusla reported that it had provided funding for community and voluntary residential provision of just under €30 million. The Department continues to support Tusla in the provision of the funding and resources needed to carry out its functions.
It is committed to ensuring the continuity of Tusla's work in supporting vulnerable children and families, as evidenced by the year-on-year increases in funding provided to the agency. In budget 2026, an overall increase of €177 million was provided, which amounted to a 14% increase in Tusla's budget over its 2025 allocation.
The committee on children will be writing to the Minister, if she has not already received our correspondence, asking that she seek a specific allocation for Tusla in the budget that would be used to expand residential places within the voluntary sector. I am really uncomfortable with the reality right now whereby we have voluntary residential services that have been in place for decades, are regulated to the hit, and rightly so, have to account for every red cent they receive and return any unspent moneys, while at the same time, we see millions of euro being given at the drop of a hat for special emergency arrangements, SEAs. That is a kick in the teeth for those voluntary organisations that do everything right and have to fundraise to keep their doors open. It seems lots of money can be given to organisations that are not regulated or inspected and which do not have to do anything in respect of those regulations. Will the Minister look specifically at money for expansion solely in the voluntary sector?
To reiterate, there has been a significant year-on-year increase in Tusla funding, with a 14% increase this year, or €177 million, in the context of its overall budget of €1.4 billion for 2026. That will provide Tusla with the opportunity to increase the overall provision of residential placements for children in need to more than 800. The Deputy will appreciate that as the 2027 budget process is ongoing, I cannot give a commitment at this stage in respect of future funding. She can be assured that we have seen increases for Tusla year on year.
Work is already under way on Ireland's first national policy framework for alternative care. That is really important and will be to the benefit of children in State care. The framework aims to articulate a whole-of-government vision for the future of alternative care in Ireland, thereby delivering on a programme for Government commitment in this area. We have had excellent engagement from the community and voluntary sector through the consultation process. It is really important that it have a say in shaping the future of the care system in Ireland, including the alternative care system. The framework will provide the basis for future investment in the care system. I acknowledge all the contributions that have been made to support that process in recent months.
The issue I am raising is that while funding to Tusla has increased, the question is where that funding is going. Given the crisis that exists for any child who is in care and while acknowledging that foster care is absolutely the number one option, I ask the Minister, where fostering is not available, to look to invest within the voluntary sector. I was really alarmed to see correspondence from America in a couple of instances recently looking to see whether people would be interested in setting up residential places in Ireland. International companies are looking to Ireland as a way to make money on the back of our care system. That is disgusting. What is more disgusting is that good, decent and proper voluntary organisations that provide homes to our most vulnerable children, and which are regulated, inspected and must account for every cent, are struggling to remain open. Some face closure and although we cannot give them the money they need to keep operating, we are looking at giving millions of euro to international investors that are not subject to regulation and inspection.
To be clear, the additional funding Tusla was given this year allowed it to open an additional 38 residential care placements in 2025, with a prediction that a further 47 will be provided in 2026-27, which gives a total over the two years of 85. The overall budget increase will help Tusla to increase the overall availability of places for children in need to more than 800. Notwithstanding that, I hear the Deputy's point regarding special emergency arrangements being unregulated. I want to be clear that Tusla has done an awful lot of work to ensure all of those SEAs are now regulated. They are either directly under the remit of Tusla itself or are fully regulated themselves.
We are very conscious of the excellent work that is done by the voluntary sector. We want to ensure it continues doing that work. I will go into the budget mindful of the need to again seek the maximum funding possible for Tusla to allow it to support everything that falls within its remit, including the voluntary sector in this instance.
6. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if staffing levels for speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and psychologists in the children’s disability network teams, CDNTs, in Balbriggan and Swords have increased in the past two years; the current number of vacancies; the additional posts or resources being allocated in response to population growth and rising demand in the north Fingal area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47691/26]
As the Minister of State knows, the Fingal area is one of the youngest areas in the country and Balbriggan is the youngest large town. However, our CDNTs are creaking. Will she give an update on whether the vacancies that have been persistent for the past couple of years have been addressed and where we are in terms of staffing levels for the CDNTs in both Balbriggan and Swords?
The 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. That commitment is reflected in the sizeable investment in disability services. In this year's budget alone, more than €3.8 billion has been allocated for disability services, which is an increase of €1.8 billion since 2020. As part of the budget process, funding was also secured for additional posts in children's disability network teams, with further investment to fund 150 posts for teams across the country. That investment builds on a 28% increase in staffing levels nationwide from October 2023 to October 2025.
Services in the Dublin north county integrated healthcare area, which is the Deputy's area, are delivered through the two CDNTs she mentioned, both of which are under the Central Remedial Clinic, CRC. To support service development and respond to increasing demand, additional staffing resources have been allocated by the HSE in recent years to the CRC. In 2026, the CRC received approval for development posts across both CDNTs, comprising 1.5 posts for Balbriggan and two posts for Swords. Two of those posts been allocated to behaviour support services, with the remaining posts allocated to speech and language therapy. The CRC was also allocated two full-time assistant therapy posts last year to support therapists and enhance service delivery across both teams.
The Deputy consistently advocates for the Fingal area. It is a fast-growing and young community. To drive further improvements, not just in Fingal but across the country, a dedicated disability workforce strategy is being worked on by the HSE and will be published this year. The strategy will help to meet growing service demands and address recruitment and retention challenges across specialist disability services, including CDNTs such as those in the Deputy's area.
I very much welcome the investment in disability services, funding for additional posts and the allocation for behavioural supports and speech and language therapy. However, when I look at the raw figures, I see that every single post for Balbriggan is underfunded. We are supposed to have six occupational therapists but there are only five; instead of five speech and language therapists, we only have 3.6; there are two physiotherapists rather than four; and we have two psychologists instead of four. It is a similar picture for Swords, with only one psychologist in place instead of four. As the Minister of State knows, early intervention is absolutely key to addressing the issues we are discussing and to supporting children and their families. While posts have been allocated, we do not have people in post. As I repeatedly highlight, it is absolutely essential that Fingal be prioritised for posts at CDNT level.
In Balbriggan, 81% of posts are filled but the figure for Swords is only 52%. That is why we are doing so much work on our recruitment and retention strategies. I pay tribute to the staff in both CDNTs for the huge progress they have made. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the total number of CDNTs across the HSE Dublin and North East region, which includes north-west Dublin, north Dublin, Cavan, Monaghan and Louth. There has been a huge increase in the number of children on open caseloads, that is, the children being seen by our CDNTs. There also has been a reduction in the number of children on CDNT waiting lists. At the end of March, across the region, that number was down substantially from the previous year, from 3,672 to 1,908. The number of children waiting over 12 months on CDNT waiting lists is also reducing. We are focusing on delivering much-needed therapies to children in Fingal and across the region.
I welcome the reductions. I really do not profess to know the science behind this but there is movement of children from CDNT lists to primary care and there is movement of children on CDNT lists from Balbriggan to Swords. I am not really sure why all of that happens, but I want to make sure that the children and families who need the therapies are getting them. While numbers look like they are reducing, I am not sure that the children have actually got the therapies they have sought.
The other thing I would like to raise is the fact of the allocations generally. I know the Minister of State said that some new posts had been allocated, but given the demographics and the rapidly growing area that Fingal is, will the Minister of State tell me how often the allocations will be updated and reviewed and are they sufficient for the demographics of the area?
Now that we have a single point of access for the HSE, that will have a huge impact and it will mean that there will be no wrong door. If a child goes to primary care and should be on a CDNT list or vice versa, they will not be put back to the start of the list again. That is a whole-of-HSE approach. The strategy we are working on at the moment is our HSE resourcing strategy. This will be about making sure we are putting the right resources in the right places. It has been very positive for the Deputy’s area in that 3.5 new roles have been created this year alone. That builds on the two new roles allocated last year. This year we have funding to deliver 150 new posts across the country in our CDNT teams and we are in discussions at the moment in terms of the Estimates for next year and we hope to be able to build on that.
