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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 2 Nov 1999

Vol. 509 No. 6

Written Answers. - Speech Therapy Service.

Noel O'Flynn

Question:

331 Mr. O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health and Children if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a number of children in the Southern Health Board region have had speech therapy withdrawn, and on occasions refused, on entrance to a special school; and his Department's policy on speech therapy training for children with special needs. [21181/99]

The provision of health related support services, including speech and language therapy, to children with an intellectual disability is the responsibility, in the first instance, of the health boards. These services are co-ordinated and expanded in consultation with the Regional Intellectual Disability Co-ordinating Committee and the Regional Physical and Sensory Disability Co-ordinating Committee, in line with the priority needs which have been identified for their regions by these committees.

The report of the Review Group on Health and Personal Social Services for People with Physical And Sensory Disabilities, Towards an Independent Future, published in December 1996, set out the requirements for the development of these services, including speech and language therapy services. The report recommended that 150 new speech and language therapy posts be put in place over the following years. Additional speech and language therapy posts have been put in place in recent years in both the intellectual disability and physical and sensory disability services as a result of the additional funding allocated in recent years to these services.
I have asked the Southern Health Board to investigate the matters referred to by the Deputy and I will be in touch with the Deputy again when I have received the board's report.
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