LABOUR JUSTICE spokesman Pat Rabbitte criticised the Health Service Executive (HSE) when he highlighted the lack of speech-therapy facilities for a teenage Dublin girl with Down syndrome.
Mr Rabbitte said the girl, who lived in his Dublin South West constituency, was cared for by her mother in a local authority house.
"Her mother is a lone parent in receipt of carer's allowance. Leslie attends special education at St John of God's, Islandbridge, the work of which most, if not all, members of this House hold in high regard.
"Although 16 years old, Leslie has never had access to speech therapy except for a period of six weeks in a group context."
Mr Rabbitte said because Leslie was in special education, she did not have access to speech therapy where it was provided by community services.
He added that Minister for Health Mary Harney had told him in February that the matter had been referred to the parliamentary affairs division of the HSE.
"That was on February 12th, and today is April 10th, but I have not even received a reply from the HSE.
"I can see no reason for optimism given the tenor of my exchanges directly with the HSE.Usually replies are evasive, and deliberately avoid the actual problem.
"In direct correspondence, painfully extracted over a long period, I was told that St John of God's has a speech and language therapy post attached to its service, so Leslie should access speech and language therapy there.
"The reply ignored the basic fact that the speech and language therapy post is either vacant for long periods or access to it is denied to Leslie because of pressure to give priority to the under- five-year-olds.
"I have pointed this out in writing to the HSE, but it simply refused to reply.
"This is typical of the evasive, insensitive, time-wasting bureaucratic speak of the public agencies on which Leslie is entitled to rely."
Mr Rabbitte added that the local authority had responded in a similarly insensitive manner to an earnest request to facilitate a local housing transfer on foot of anti-social behaviour.
Minister of State for Education Seán Haughey said since 2004 St John of God's had experienced recruitment and retention problems with the speech and language therapist posts.
He added that the teenager referred to by Mr Rabbitte was on a waiting list for assessment.
