Oireachtas Committee hears of autistic boy offered psychology appointment in Cork in 2030

Social Democrat TD Liam Quaide described how a young autistic constituent was sent an appointment in January for September 2030 with psychology. The boy was later referred to his CDNT instead which also has a waiting list. File picture

Urgent attention is needed to support children’s disability network teams (CDNT), the Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters has been told.

It also heard one Cork boy faced a wait of five years and nine months for a psychology appointment in primary care.

National Disability Authority (NDA) CEO Dr Aideen Hartney discussed its ongoing review of the CDNTs, saying its final report is due at the end of this year. She described this as an “area requiring urgent attention”.

The review is examining how effective the model is, and staffing levels. She acknowledged “not all network teams are fully staffed as yet”.

It is also looking at how plans to return therapists into special schools are proceeding.

Social Democrat TD Liam Quaide queried why primary care services were not also reviewed. 

He described how a young autistic constituent was sent an appointment in January for September 2030 with psychology. The boy was later referred to his CDNT instead which also has a waiting list.

NDA head of policy Dr Rosalyn Tamming explained they focused only on CDNTs as it would take too long to review two large services together. 

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“We will be talking to primary care and Camhs specifically around that referral process and how that’s working,” she added.

They have had feedback, she said, on waiting times, describing this as “it’s shifting waiting lists from one place to another place”.

The HSE said last week it intends to streamline the referrals by bringing in a single point of entry for families by October. 

However, Dr Tamming indicated if this is to happen then a review of staffing is needed first as well as of how referrals can be shared.