A staggering 920 children in County Louth are languishing on a Assessment of Need (AON) waiting list for various therapies they require.
A total of 743 are waiting more than three months to be seen,100 from 1 to 3 months, and 74 for less than a month.
The figure for Meath is worse with a record 966 on the AON waiting list. The data showed 800 are waiting to see a specialist for three months or more, 103 for 1 to 3 months and 63 for less than a month.
The figures were obtained by Sinn Fein and also showed that 18,097 children across the state are waiting for AON, with the average waiting time now 27 months – despite a legal 6 month timeframe.
At the current rate of processing 140 a year – it will take almost seven years to reduce the waiting list backlog.
The party’s Meath East TD Darren O’Rourke warned that without a change in approach from the Government the situation will worsen and more families will continue to suffer.
He said: “Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Regional Independents continue to fail children living in this state.
“The new figures from the HSE concerning Assessment In Need are a damning indictment of this Government’s approach to children with disabilities. They reveal a crisis that is ever deepening despite repeated promises to get control of the situation.
“Under the Disability Act there is a legal requirement to provide AON within six months. However, today’s figures reveal a worsening situation for children.
“Children and families are being failed dramatically, left in limbo waiting for support they are meant to be entitled to.
“Across the state a shocking 9 in 10 assessments are not completed within the legal timeframe.”
