One therapist to be allocated to Carrigaline school after HSE row with minister

Parents of children attending a special school vented frustration that promised therapists had yet to start work at the school

Anne Rabbitte stormed out of a meeting with HSE officials over lack of delivery of therapists. Picture: Julien Behal

The HSE has been forced to act on providing therapists in schools after the Irish Examiner  revealed a row between Disability Minister Anne Rabbitte and senior officials.

However, as of last night just one of the 15 promised specialists had been put in place, with the HSE confirming that Carrigaline special school will be given one therapist.

Ms Rabbitte stormed out of a meeting with senior HSE officials on Wednesday after relations broke down over the lack of delivery of therapists to schools.

Parents of children attending a special school in Carrigaline, Co Cork, had vented frustration that promised therapists have yet to start working at the school.

Carrigaline is one of four schools in Cork due to be allocated assistant therapists this week.

However, none of the 15 specialists had been appointed until the Irish Examiner  reported that Ms Rabbitte walked out of a meeting in anger over what she viewed as a failure to present any clear rationale for the delays.

It has now emerged that one staff member has been put in place at the school but the minister is still awaiting an update on other schools including St Paul’s in Montenotte, as well as Rochestown Special School. The HSE also informed Ms Rabbitte that agency staff are being utilised over “the next couple of weeks” at a school in Tuam, Co Galway. And she was told assistant therapists are being recruited to panels before being deployed at Our Lady of Hope in Crumlin, Dublin, while the HSE is looking at whether agency staff can plug the gap there as well. 

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Ms Rabbitte said: “It has taken two years to get to this point, which it simply shouldn’t have but I really do believe a corner has finally been turned.

This is all part of a wider number of special schools which should see their supports in place by Christmas. I need to see action, not just words on paper, or statements that indicate one thing while the reality is different for the children and families.

She said it is vital to ensure other children accessing their Children’s Disability Network Team (CDNT) are not seeing their service impacted.

Ms Rabbitte added that there are “a number of key stakeholders who have to play their part in the delivery of this initiative, and I would call on the service providers and school patrons in particular to ensure they’re doing their bit to support these special schools to their fullest.”

Enterprise Minister Simon Coveney, in whose constituency the Carrigaline school is located, also intervened in the row between the HSE and the disability minister and tweeted that it was “simply not acceptable” that promised supports for children had not happened.

Last year Ms Rabbitte ordered the HSE to redeploy therapists in schools and said the rollout of the new Progressing Disability Services (PDS) plan was “simply not delivering for children".