Vol. 536 No. 5
253 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Health and Children if his attention has been drawn to the inadequate service in the area of speech, language and occupational therapy for autistic children; the plans he has to improve the service generally; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15115/01]
While significant additional resources have been made available to the health boards in recent years to enhance the level of health related support services available to children with disabilities and those with autism, the boards and other service providers have been encountering difficulties in both recruiting and retaining the allied health professionals necessary to deliver the various therapy services.
In acknowledgement of these difficulties, my Department has asked the authority and the health boards to explore other possibilities with a view to facilitating as many children as possible to access the necessary support services. This might include the purchase of additional sessions which may result in either the maintenance of the existing levels of service provision or an enhancement in line with agreed service developments, using the resources which have been allocated for these services. It is a matter however for each health board and the Eastern Regional Health Authority to determine what additional measures the service in their region might undertake to facilitate this access.
I have just received the report that I commissioned from Dr. Peter Bacon and Associates in relation to workforce planning for speech and language therapy. I am considering its implications and will shortly be in a position to announce developments in this area.
Another measure which has been taken to assist parents in this area is section 8 of the Finance Act, 2001, which amends section 469 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997, to extend tax relief for medical expenses to cover the cost of educational psychological assessment and speech and language therapy services for children.
