Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 21 Nov 2000

Vol. 526 No. 3

Written Answers. - Speech Therapy Service.

Richard Bruton

Ceist:

259 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of speech therapy posts that are currently approved by his Department; the number of such posts that are currently vacant; in which regions the vacancies exist; and his plans to address the needs of school-going children for speech therapy over the next four years. [26422/00]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

The grade of speech and language therapist is composed of speech and language therapist, senior speech and language therapist, speech and language therapist manager, formally speech and language therapist principal I and principal II. The data supplied is taken from the latest health service personnel census of 31 December 1999. All numbers are expressed in wholetime equivalents, w.t.e. Data on the number of vacancies is not available.

	1999wte's
Speech and language therapist	217.53
Speech and language therapist, senior	95.46
Speech and language therapist, manager	32.00
Total	344.99

The provision of health related support services, including speech and language therapy services to schoolgoing children, is the responsibility, in the first instance, of the relevant health board.

The development of such services is therefore a matter for the health boards in consultation with their regional co-ordinating committees. My Department will, however, continue to work with the boards in relation to their plans for the enhancement of these services.