Nearly 4,000 Dublin children awaiting speech therapy

New figures have shown a backlog of almost 4,000 children in Dublin are waiting for speech and language therapy.

Fine Gael Senator Pascal Donohoe said the new figures show the backlog has a two-year waiting time.

The majority of children are waiting up to four months for assessment alone.

Senator Donohue said this kind of therapy is most effective if it begins as early as possible.

He said: "The figures show a huge disparity between different areas of Dublin with the southwest and west of the city having the longest waiting times."