Vol. 553 No. 2
458 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will allocate additional funds to the North-Eastern Health Board to provide additional speech and language therapists; the steps he proposes to take to reduce the waiting list for speech therapy assessments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13082/02]
Responsibility for the provision of speech and language therapy services to children and adults with an intellectual disability in the north east is a matter for the North-Eastern Health Board. Additional funding has been made available annually in recent years to the health boards, including the North-Eastern Health Board, in respect of the provision of health related support services for children with an intellectual disability and those with autism. In addition to this ringfenced funding, children with disabilities would also have benefited from the additional therapy posts which have been put in place in services for persons with physical or sensory disabilities.
However many health boards and specialist service providers have been experiencing difficulties in recruiting allied health professionals and specifically speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and psychologists. This is due primarily to the general shortage of available staff in these grades nationally. Health boards and agencies have been and are continuing to undertake intensive recruitment drives at home and abroad. My Department has asked the health boards and the Eastern Regional Health Authority to explore other approaches which might result in the maintenance of an existing level of service provision or an enhancement in line with agreed service developments using the resources allocated to the services.
