Over 2,000 kids waiting for contact with disability services in Longford HSE area
The Longford-Westmeath TD said new figures confirm that children with disabilities are ‘being failed’ by the system.
Children with disabilities are being ‘failed by a system that is buckling under demand’, according tio Longford-Westmeath TD Sorca Clarke.
The Sinn Féin TD said new figures confirm that children with disabilities are being failed by a system that is buckling under demand
Deputy Clarke stated a Parliamentary Question response revealed that 7,121 children were on Children's Disability Network Team (CDNT) waiting lists at the end of June 2026.
The figures, provided show that almost 4,450 children, more than three in five of those waiting, have been waiting over a year just for an initial contact with their local team, with 2,875 children waiting more than 25 months.
Deputy Clarke said, "These figures lay bare the reality facing thousands of families across the state.
“Over 7,000 children are waiting simply for a first contact with a disability network team, not for treatment, not for therapy, just to be seen. Almost 2,900 of them have been waiting more than two years.
"Every month of delay for a child is a month of lost opportunity at a critical stage of development. Parents are being left to fight alone for basic supports their children are entitled to, while the Government continues to point to 'validated data' rather than delivering the therapists and psychologists needed on the ground.
"The regional breakdown is particularly stark. In the HSE Dublin Midlands area alone, over 2,150 children are waiting, with more than 1,100 of them waiting over two years.
“This is not an isolated problem, it is a national failure repeated in every regional health area.
"It is also deeply concerning that the response confirmed the average and longest waiting times are not even collated.
“Families deserve to know not just how many are waiting, but how long they can expect to wait. Without that data there is no way to properly plan for or measure improvement.
"CDNTs provide vital early intervention and disability supports for children from birth to age eighteen. Every child stuck on this list is a child whose window for early intervention is narrowing.”
There are 2,150 children waiting in the HSE Dublin Midlands area, which includes Longford, with more than 1,100 of them waiting over two years.
Deputy Clarke added, “I am calling on the Minister to publish a comprehensive plan for CDNT waiting lists, including clear targets for reducing the number of children waiting over a year, and to urgently address the recruitment and retention crisis in therapy and psychology posts that lies at the heart of this crisis."