The lack of funding for two senior Speech and Language Therapist posts in Donegal has been branded as unacceptable ignorance from the Department of Health.
Donegal TD Charlie McConalogue has criticised the Minister for Health for not allocating funding for services for adults with intellectual disabilities, despite the applications being approved.
Deputy McConalogue said he was informed by the HSE that Speech and Language Therapy Services submitted business cases for two Senior Speech and Language Therapist posts for Adult Intellectual Disability services in Donegal at the beginning of 2017.
“Through my correspondence with the HSE I have discovered that despite the application submitted in 2017, no approval has yet been received for the posts. Indeed, I learned that the posts were included in their estimates for 2019 but no funding was received,” McConalogue said.
The Fianna Fáil TD said it is unacceptable that there is currently no service for adults with intellectual disability in Donegal for their communication needs.
“As it stands at present, adults with intellectual disability who require swallow assessment, are currently being seen with the Primary Care system and that is unfair and unacceptable.”
Deputy McConalogue who raised the matter with the Minister in the Dáil recently, promised to keep the issue high on the agenda.
“I have been informed that the HSE will include the posts again as a matter of priority in their 2020 estimates, so it is up to the Minister now to follow through with the necessary funding to ensure this vital service is available for the people of Donegal as a matter of urgency,” Deputy McConalogue concluded.
