One in five posts in vital children's disability services vacant Louth TD reveals

One in five posts needed for the Children’s Disability Network Teams (CDNTs) around the State are vacant, with almost 530 positions waiting to be filled, according to new information from the HSE given to Louth Sinn Féin TD, Ruairí Ó Murchú.

In response to a Parliamentary Question tabled by Deputy Ó Murchú, the HSE said data from their draft staff census, which was run on October 16 last year, "details a 22% vacancy rate, or 529.77 Whole Time Equivalent (WTE), a noted improvement on the 29% vacancy rare in the 2023 Workforce Review and vacant posts are those unfilled as of October 16 2024 which require recruitment.

"There was a 271.77 WTE net gain of staff into CDNTs in the past 12 months to 16/10/2024. The HSE December 2024 Census notes accelerated recruitment growth across Disabilities services, therefore we can predicate further growth in CDNT recruitment in 16/10/2024 to 31/12/2024 period."

The Dundalk deputy said it was shocking that nearly 530 posts were still vacant in CDNTs around the State but added that it would "come as no surprise to families in Louth whose children are waiting for vital services for years because there is not enough staff to do the work that is needed".

Deputy Ó Murchú said his very first meeting in Leinster House, on the resumption of the Dáil, was with other Oireachtas members who are part of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Autism and met AsIAm CEO Adam Harris. He also attended a meeting of Inclusion Louth in Blackrock at the end of January where clinical psychologist Dr Damien Connolly.

He said: "This response from the HSE is shocking, but not a surprise to the very many families in Dundalk and Louth who are struggling to get the therapies for their children.

“While everything has to be done from a workforce planning, as well as from a recruitment and retention point of view, we are in situation where there will be gaps for the next number of years. Therapists and psychologists have said that there has not been a conversation with them on the best way to provide everything from assessments to therapies, alongside technological support.

“We need action from the government on the school inclusion model during this term, so we get the best bang for our buck with regard to occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, physiotherapists and others, not just in special schools but also in all schools with a shared service, offering holistic solutions. This is what needs to happen and I will continue to raise it at every opportunity.”