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Cobh families deserve to know real figures – Sherlock

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How can the Department of Health tell us what it will cost to clear the backlog but the HSE cannot say what the backlog is?

Cork East TD Seán Sherlock has called on the HSE to stop producing stock answer and address the urgent backlog of Early Years Intervention in Cobh and around the country.

“The fact that the HSE does not have extrapolated waiting list figures for children’s disability services is extremely concerning,” said Deputy Sherlock, who is also Labour Party Spokesperson on Public Expenditure.

“Instead of highlighting targeted areas which can then be addressed, they choose to bury the figures within a larger subsection. Children’s disability is a crucial area that demands immediate action in the case of each child. In our Alternative Budget we allocated over €250 million of the next five years to clear the backlog nationally. That figure was not plucked out of thin air, it was a costed estimate from the Department of Health.”

“How can the Department of Health tell us what it will cost to clear the backlog but the HSE cannot say what the backlog is? Either the costing was incorrect and we were misled by the Department or the HSE is deliberately keeping these figures a secret because they know that it is another bad news story. Families of children with special needs and those needing assessment in Cobh deserve to know the true figures.”

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