Country’s speech and language services chronically under-resourced and "cannot cope with demand" — report

Ireland has just half the number of speech and language therapists it needs, with 3,000 children waiting more than a year for therapy and another 2,000 children waiting the same period of time for an assessment.

The findings are included in a working paper on speech and language therapy to be published today and indicate a system that “cannot cope with demand”.

The paper found access to speech and language therapy was effectively a post code lottery, with places such as Wexford and Donegal less likely to have quick access to services than children in areas such as Cork South Lee and Wicklow.