‘Our children have nowhere to go’

Dáil protest for more children’s disability services

Parents from Cavan and Monaghan will protest outside the Dáil next Tuesday as part of an ongoing campaign for more supports for children with additional needs.

Rachel Kearns and Serena Dawson, who have spearheaded multiple protests in Cavan on the issue, will be among those gathered at next week’s protest, while the group will also address TDs and ministers in the Audio-Visual Room afterwards.

They recently “joined forces” with the ‘Every Child Matters’ campaign to “highlight what’s going on” in children’s disability services. They are among parents from Cavan, Monaghan, Meath, Sligo, Kildare, Galway and Cork who will go to Dublin next week “to tell our stories”.

“No one county has everything they need so this protest is to highlight the lack of disability services and to bring all the counties and families together.

“There are very little services and therapies, staff can’t be held on to so children are just being left behind,” Rachel said.

While the Assessment of Need outlines that children “need” these therapies, Rachel said they are not receiving them.

“This [AON] has to lead to the therapies and supports that are identified.

“It’s really hard. We fought and fought to try and get these therapies,” she said.

While there is an option to avail of private therapies, Rachel said “money runs out” and parents “don’t have the money to keep going private”.

“Our children have nowhere to go.

“I want to make it very clear the consequences that families are dealing with from the lack of disability supports.”

Rachel’s eldest son is nine years old, and is under the care of Enable Ireland for autism, an intellectual disability and is also non-verbal. She says he has received “very few” appointments, despite being on the waiting list for seven years. He is currently waiting on Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy and psychology appointments.

“Would he have been able to speak if we had therapy or early intervention? These are questions that families shouldn’t have to ask. This support service is meant to help us not burden us.”

Her younger son Kaizer, who is six, is “active” on Enable Ireland’s waiting list for the last three years, however has “never” had a therapy appointment.

Rachel encouraged other families who are in a similar situation to join them at the protest.

“The more families who can tell their story the better. They [the government] can’t keep sweeping this under the carpet.”

Speaking in the Dáil last week, Deputy Matt Carthy (SF) asked the Minister for Disability the number of children on the waiting list for an assessment of need in counties Cavan and Monaghan.

Minister of State Emer Higgins said AON applications have risen from 4,700 in 2020 to over 13,000 last year, adding: “Demand has outpaced the capacity of our system to respond.”

The most recent data for Cavan-Monaghan shows that 634 applications were overdue for completion at the end of June. Of these, 543 were overdue for more than three months. Up to June of this year, 123 assessments of need applications were received in Cavan and Monaghan for 2026.

Deputy Carthy said the Government is “breaking the law” by “failing” to provide children with assessments of need, which they are legally entitled to within a certain timeframe.

* Enable Ireland and the HSE have both been contacted for comment.