Hildegarde Naughton
Galway West · Fine Gael · Ireland
“It is an absolute commitment in the programme for Government to reduce the pupil-teacher ratio over the lifetime of the Government. The Deputy will appreciate I cannot announce anything here in the Dáil. I have to go into negotiations in relation to the upcoming budget.”
“Where we can, we give guidance and I know schools are very well aware of this. They do this well themselves so that where possible, the more junior classes would have a lower class size.”
“The identification model has to be applied consistently right across the country to have fairness and transparency around it. Under the DEIS strategy to 2035, work is under way in my Department, with colleagues in the Central Statistics Office and across other Departments, to utilise other administrative data sources to help improve how w…”
“The school referred to by the Deputy submitted an application under the additional school accommodation, ASA, scheme for an additional temporary classroom in 2025. This school had previously been approved for a permanent extension under the ASA scheme in 2021 for a two-classroom special education needs unit and one mainstream classroom.”
“A huge amount of work is being done on securing specialist places, be it in special classes or special schools. We are far ahead of where we were this time last year. We had a budget for 400 special classes. I got increased funding in March of this year. We are ahead in relation to forward planning.”
“The general average of pupils to teachers in the primary staffing schedule improved from 26:1 five years ago to 23:1 for the current school year. Average class sizes in primary schools have improved from 24.1 to 22.2 through the investment we are making in schools.”
The complete record
Every one of 767 lines we hold for Hildegarde Naughton, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 10 of 16.
“The HSE advises that a comprehensive submission for capital funding for a new day services premises to replace Clogher House, in line with the national HSE New Directions policy for adult day services, was approved in 2024. HSE disability services and HSE Dublin north-east capital and estates concluded a tender process for a leasehold site in Cavan, which was approved in July 2025. The HSE capital and estates regional office has now issued letters to the successful and unsuccessful tenderers. Once all outstanding issues are addressed, the HSE will look at engaging with the preferred provider on milestones and a programme of delivery.”
“I thank Senator Gallagher for raising this important issue and giving me the opportunity to respond. Day services are Health Service Executive-funded programmes for people with intellectual disabilities, autism or complex physical disabilities that include a range of centre-based and community-based activities. Access to services is based on an individual's needs rather than on their diagnosis. The focus is on supporting people to participate in mainstream activities and in the life of their community, in line with their wishes and their needs. Clogher House is a day activation unit premises based in Rathcorrick, Cavan.”
“-----important legislation and improvements in the areas that matter most to individuals and families. A confidence motion does not achieve any of that. I am not sure the public sees Aontú as a serious political party. We hear a lot of discourse about people participating in democratic processes but yesterday outside this House, Deputy Tóibín said he was considering spoiling his vote on Friday week.”
“As Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Minister across a number of Government Departments, Simon Harris has helped to build the Ireland of today, which enjoys record levels of employment, a robust and resilient economy and a commitment to making social progress and delivering supports for people who need them most. There is no doubt that without Simon Harris's influence and support, we would not have secured record investment in disability in this budget. Simon's record and dedication to public service is clear for everyone to see. I am confident the result of this vote this evening will reflect the esteem with which he is held across this House. Aontú's attempt to damage the Tánaiste is nothing but a waste of precious Dáil time.”
“I rise today to express my full confidence in the Fine Gael leader, the Tánaiste, Deputy Simon Harris, and in his work as a Minister in this Government. At the outset, I pass on my sincere condolences to the family of Harvey Morrison Sherratt and especially to his mum and dad, Gillian and Stephen. We as a Government need to do better for vulnerable children, whether they have a disability or they are waiting for vital medical treatment. That includes investing in services and, especially, early intervention and ensuring that our health services provide health and disability services to those who need them most.”
“I hear the concerns the Senator is raising. I will continue my engagement with the HSE to make sure the service gets up and running. I have been told by the HSE that some of the staff are in place and that recruitment is ongoing. I absolutely accept and understand the consistency and surety that are needed for individuals who want to use this day service, and they must get that. We need this building up and running. The recruitment drive is ongoing. I look forward to keeping in contact with the Senator and the HSE to make sure this is opened fully and staffed fully as quickly as possible. This is exactly where we want to go with our national disability strategy, ensuring we have residential, respite and day services in place with staffing. Let us keep in contact on this to ensure it is progressed as soon as possible.”
“I acknowledge and agree with the Senator’s comments on the importance of dignity and inclusion. It is people in her constituency like the mother she was talking to last night who are the exact families and individuals we want to be able to accommodate when they leave school. That is why we have allocated 1,400 new day service places for school leavers for next year. With regard to the Montenotte facility, my advice from the HSE is that the refurbishment work will be completed this month. I will keep in contact with the Senator because I know it is something she has raised with me previously. We will keep in contact regarding progress and the delivery of the service.”
“Within the sector, the New Directions policy has guided a major programme of change to reconfigure adult services, based on the core values of person-centredness, community inclusion, active citizenship and high-quality service provision. There are over 20,000 individuals with a disability in receipt of day services, together with a further 2,049 in rehabilitative training services. These services are provided at 1,091 locations around the country by 97 service provider agencies. As the Senator knows, we had the budget yesterday. A sum of €3.8 billion has been allocated for specialist disability services in the budget, representing a 20% increase year on year. This includes funding for a new cohort of 1,400 school leavers and also 50 day service places for non-school leavers, for example, people who acquire a disability later in life.”
“The HSE further advises that the school leavers referred to this programme commenced their transition in the week commencing 29 September 2025. All parents have been contacted by Horizons, and weekly schedules have been sent out outlining the days their children will attend the service during the transition period. The HSE has confirmed that the recruitment of staff for the Pathways programme is ongoing, with some of the staff currently in place. Staff are working with the young adults as part of the transition plan. Once recruitment is finalised for the staffing of the Pathways programme, the young adult service will increase to 30 hours per week. Families will be kept updated by Horizons on a weekly basis. As the Senator knows, Government investment has enabled the development of much-needed locations, such as Pathways in Montenotte.”
“I thank Senator Lynch for raising this important issue and offering me the opportunity to respond. Day services are Health Service Executive-funded programmes for people with intellectual disabilities, autism or complex physical disabilities. That includes a range of centre-based and community-based activities. Access to services is based on an individual’s needs rather than on their diagnosis. The focus is on supporting people to participate in mainstream activities and in the life of their community, in line with their wishes. Pathways adult disability day service is part of Horizons adult day services in Montenotte, Cork. The HSE advises me that refurbishment works being carried out are expected to finish this month. In the interim, another area within Horizons, Montenotte, has been identified for the Pathways programme.”
“The Government believes that disabled people should be able to access the right services at the right time within their communities. Budget 2026 is the first step in making that a reality.”
“The blueprint for our spending decisions is the national humans rights strategy for disabled people, which was published just over one month ago. It will be our charter right out to 2030. This is a whole-of-government strategy that was shaped by the voices of disabled people. Budget 2026 will help deliver the ambition expressed during that consultation process. It is also worth noting that a whole-of-government approach has been adopted in the framing of budget 2026. Colleagues across the Government will announce today and tomorrow details of other supports for disabled people and their families. These include more therapists in primary care, additional special education teachers and SNAs and targeted supports for disabled people, including an expansion of the wage subsidy scheme and increases in the domiciliary care allowance.”
“The key areas of investment in 2026 include an additional 1,400 day service places for young school leavers in 2026 and 50 places for older adults who currently do not have a service; provision of some 10,000 overnight and 15,000 day respite sessions, as well as alternative respite packages; provision of 150,000 home support and personal assistance hours; supports for people in need of residential placements; €20 million to procure approximately 6,500 private assessments of needs for those families waiting the longest; and continued recruitment across disability services, with around 1,000 staff to be hired in 2026, which will include therapists. Specialist disability services will also see their capital allocation grow in 2026 by €15.3 million to €43 million.”
“I am grateful for the opportunity to speak this evening. When this Government took office last January, we promised a step change in the delivery of supports and services for people with disabilities and their families. Budget 2026 is the first step in delivering on this ambition. Some €3.83 billion will be provided to specialist disability services in 2026. That is an unprecedented increase of €618 million, or almost 20%. This funding will be directed at services delivered by the HSE section 38 and section 39 organisations, which do such valuable work on the ground. The increased allocation will help provide financial stability to a sector that has seen significant cost increases over recent years in addition to a rising demand for their services.”
“This is a whole-of-government approach but the HSE, the Department of Education and Youth and my Department will also ensure we are reaching those at an earlier level and allowing CDNTs to deal with those with the most complex needs.”
“I thank the Deputy, and I will come back to him if I have those figures available to me. He raised an important point around early intervention. I refer to the earliest milestones, and a child not reaching them. What is happening now is a lot of these pressures are coming into the education system. Where a need is identified we need to be flagging it much earlier and providing the services much earlier. That is where that single point of access to the HSE will be so important as well as us dealing with the assessment of need process, recruiting and retaining our therapists at home and abroad but also getting that earlier intervention through the primary care setting, for example. Just one area is not going to resolve this.”
“Yes, we provided €10 million to try to address the assessment of need backlog, for example, and we will continue to work our way through that. People do have a right to an assessment of need but we need to make sure that we are looking at our third level institutions, recruitment abroad and speeding up the registration process for those coming back from abroad through CORU but also looking at bursaries. If the Deputy has other suggestions, my door is open with regard to recruitment and retention of these therapists.”
“I do not have the figures for that but I can tell the Deputy that the focus of Government, and my focus and that of the Minister, Deputy Foley, is to make sure we are increasing the number of speech and language therapists and occupational therapists so that they are actually going out there providing the therapies. As the Deputy knows with regard to the backlog of assessment of need, a lot of them are carrying out the assessments. What many people want and what parents send their children to get these assessments for is to get access to the therapies, which is a huge part of this. That is the drive we are working on through the legislation around the assessment of need process to make it more efficient and effective, and to meet the needs of our children who really need these services. That is our sole focus.”
“We also need to develop that pipeline of future therapists through our third level education system, which we are doing. In June, the Government approved an expansion in training places from September 2025 in disciplines critical to disability, health and education services. Additionally, alternative pathways into health and social care professions are being developed to widen access to critical skills areas. That includes apprenticeships, tertiary programmes, graduate conversion and mature entry.”
“Access to therapies for a child should not depend on whether their family can afford it. Rather than diverting funding to reimburse individuals for private therapy, we should utilise public funding to invest in our public system and to enhance the capacity to deliver these therapies free of charge. This is an issue of equity and it also speaks to our focus on building a sustainable service for children with disabilities. Notwithstanding this, individual health regions may procure private providers to provide therapies and interventions on a case-by-case basis. However, this is usually only in exceptional circumstances. This is about improving the pipeline of required therapies and a continued focus on recruitment and retention.”
“The Government and I recognise the importance of early intervention, and the programme for Government, as the Deputy knows, commits to ensuring children and their families get that early intervention and therapy input, and that they can access that support in a timely way. A key response to this issue is the recruitment and retention of health and social care professionals, and I alluded to that in my last response. Substantial effort and investment has been made in this regard. Our CDNTs support almost 45,000 children with complex needs. HSE data from April of this year shows there has been an increase of 26% in CDNT staffing levels since October 2023 and the vacancy rate has reduced from 29% in 2023 to 18% in 2025, an 11% reduction. I acknowledge that some families, as the Deputy said, are still facing unacceptable delays.”
“We had 150 extra therapists going through our third level system last year, going into first year. There will be more placements this year, developing the future pipeline. We are also looking at the national CDNT training programme. We have the expedited CORU registration process, which is for bringing therapists in from abroad, making sure we are doing absolutely everything we can to recruit qualified therapists in this area. We also have bespoke initiatives designed to provide specialist supports for children with complex needs and their families.”
“I will come back and follow up in writing on that. The Deputy makes a good point as well. I always stress when travelling around the country and visiting services that there is a lot of fantastic work happening within the disability sector. Sometimes those working within the sector talk to me about the narrative out there. We all understand the challenges that have to be dealt with and there are families out there who are waiting too long on these waiting lists for their children to access these services. As part of this, we need to be recruiting and retaining more, which we will be doing, and that will also hopefully build the morale of these fantastic teams on the ground who are dealing with very challenging situations in trying to get through these waiting lists. We are also looking at our third level system.”
“That included 20 senior therapist posts, 20 staff-grade posts, 20 health and social care assistants posts and 15 clinical trainee posts. Measures have also been provided to assist with sustainability. That is to address the assessment of need backlog while freeing up resources for therapists to actually carry out the therapeutic supports.”
“That is the breakdown I received but I will go back and see if there is a further breakdown. The Deputy's question was specific but those were the figures I got back. I will come back to the Deputy if there is a further breakdown. My Department and I know that more needs to be done in this area. My Department is working with the HSE to introduce specific recruitment and retention measures and incentives for therapists to work in our CDNTs, including the CDNT sponsorship initiative and facilitating direct access for funded agencies to existing professional panels. In 2025, we allocated €10 million in additional funding to be made available specifically for children's services, and that funding focused on recruiting for various positions right across our CDNTs.”
“Work is ongoing to increase staffing levels. The HSE data from April of this year shows there has been a nationwide increase of 26% in CDNT staffing levels since October 2023. Most significantly, the CDNT national vacancy rate has reduced from 29% in 2023 to 18% in 2025. This is a reduction of 11 percentage points.”
“They include significant measures to integrate and improve access to services, to expand the workforce and to advance better communication and engagement with families. A key part of this work has been the improvement of access to services through the CDNTs. These are providing supports and services to almost 45,000 children. I fully acknowledge that there is still a lot more to do to address the current delays faced by children with disabilities who are seeking services. The latest data received from the HSE for the second quarter of 2025 show that there are currently 41 applications waiting one to three months, while there are 334 applications waiting longer than three months in the Cavan-Monaghan area, CHO 1. Recruitment and retention of health and social care professionals, HSCPs, is the most significant challenge.”
“The Government and I recognise the importance of early intervention for children with disabilities and of ensuring they receive the right service at the right time. Under the programme for Government we are committed to ensuring that children and their families who need early intervention and therapy input can access that support in a timely way. The key vehicle for change and improvement is the roadmap for service improvement for disability services for children and young people. The implementation of this roadmap is well under way and will continue until 2026. The roadmap contains an important set of actions that collectively will enhance children's disability services in Ireland.”
“I thank the Deputy for his contribution. It is important. He is correct that we should address those gaps. As I travelled the country I have met those who look after people who acquire a brain injury - mostly adults - but issues around that gap between the ages of 16 and 18 are issues that have been raised with me. I appreciate the Deputy raising the issue here and it is something we will have to look at to make sure we are rolling out these hubs as is happening for adults across the country but also looking at gaps in the service.”
“Following confirmation of 2026 funding, the HSE will publish its 2026 national service plan, which will set out the expected activity for 2026.”
“As I was saying, we will be increasing our focus on children's neurorehabilitation. The HSE is progressing plans to examine the demand for those rehabilitation services for children in Ireland with acquired disability and to examine the current capacity of rehabilitation services, as well as designing a service delivery model for children with acquired disability in line with national strategies for children with disabilities. Consideration of the children’s disability services and the funding requirements for budget 2026 is ongoing. The Department has been actively engaging with the Department of public expenditure and reform and digitalisation and with the HSE throughout this process. As the budget has not yet been announced, confirmation regarding funding in specific regions cannot yet be provided.”
“To date, the Government has provided funding for community neurorehabilitation teams in four regional health areas around HSE Galway, Roscommon and Mayo; HSE south west; HSE Dublin, South and Wicklow; HSE Dublin south west, south city and west; and Kildare west Wicklow. The Deputy's issue was in relation to children in particular and we will be increasing focus on children’s neurorehabilitation going forward. The HSE is progressing plans to examine the demand for paediatric neurorehabilitation services for children in Ireland. I will come back in afterwards.”
“HSE data from April 2025 shows there has been a nationwide increase of 26% in CDNT staffing levels since October 2023. Most significantly, the CDNT national vacancy rate has reduced from 29% in 2023 to 18% this year, a reduction of 11 percentage points, and we will continue to improve that. The model of service for all CDNTs is family-centred and based on the needs of the child. It is centred on the objectives of empowering and supporting parents and others who are with the child on a daily basis to facilitate the child’s developmental needs. The programme for Government includes a commitment to advancing neurorehabilitation services nationally, including the completion of the national roll-out of HSE community neurorehabilitation teams.”
“I thank the Deputy for his question. The Government and I recognise the need for all children to receive the right services at the right time. We are committed to improving services for all children with disabilities. We have and will continue to do so. As the Deputy will know, there are currently 93 children's disability network teams, CDNTs, across the country and these teams provide services and supports for children from birth to 18 years of age. Children with neurological conditions receive supports through these teams as well as through other community services. Almost 45,000 children and their families are being supported by children’s disability network teams and in respect of the number of children waiting to access the CDNTs, it has been decreasing by 15% in the first half of this year.”
“It is only by matching our words and promises with action that we can earn the trust of disabled people. That is why we recognise this strategy as the beginning of a journey together and not the final destination.”
“In fact, it is the cross-government framework of the strategy that provides the foundation upon which each of the five pillars is built, and it will therefore be cross-government collaboration that will be the prerequisite for the strategy’s successful implementation. The publication of this national human rights strategy for disabled people is an important achievement in the first year of this Government. Developed in partnership with disabled people, the strategy represents a significant step forward for the realisation of disability rights in Ireland. The Government has promised a step change in the delivery of disability services in Ireland. This strategy, and its built-in enforcement mechanisms, is the blueprint for how we will get there.”
“The chair of the DPO group will participate in the delivery and monitoring committee. The commitments within the strategy and the monitoring and implementation structures designed to support them were developed through the large-scale national public consultation and the close co-design with disability stakeholders, ensuring the resulting strategy will make meaningful, transformative progress and will realise its ambitions. I take this opportunity to thank colleagues across government for their commitment in developing this strategy, which we must view only as a beginning, an excellent starting point from which we must all continue to build to ensure the strategy’s full implementation and effectiveness.”
“This group will be chaired by the Taoiseach, underscoring the top-level commitment to progressing delivery. The newly formed disability unit in the Department of the Taoiseach will play a key role in co-ordinating efforts across Departments that are leading on pillars and will support collaborative delivery. The pillar groupings will comprise a mix of Departments, agencies and stakeholders working together to identify and deliver on the best course of action to achieve the stated ambitions. The inclusion of disabled people themselves is an integral part of this new approach, with the setting-up of a disabled persons organisation group where members will sit alongside Departments in pillar groupings, ensuring the representative voice of disabled people is directly integrated into decision-making.”
“To ensure the commitments outlined in the strategy are met, robust delivery and monitoring structures have been co-designed with stakeholders to ensure oversight and accountability. There is a strong focus on collaboration, and delivery will be underpinned by programme plans of action every two years. These programme plans will set out how the key priority actions under each commitment will be delivered, who will be responsible for their delivery and the timeframe for delivery. At the highest level, the Cabinet committee on disability will oversee the strategy, and all groups responsible for delivery will be accountable to this Cabinet committee. The delivery and monitoring committee is central to implementation and will meet twice a year. It is responsible for overseeing and directing the delivery of the strategy.”
“The strategy calls out where we need to do better in areas such as increasing respite places, the provision of more day services, growing the number of Irish sign language interpreters and harnessing the power of assistive technology. It highlights how we must deliver supports to employers and disabled people to remove barriers to work, conduct walkability audits to make our towns and cities accessible and remove barriers that prevent disabled people from enjoying public spaces like parks, galleries and museums or from partaking in cultural events. It falls on each Department and each Minister to make sure that happens. No one Department or Minister is responsible; we all are.”
“We know that disabled people, for a variety of reasons, are less likely to have a job. Organisations like the Together Academy show that many people with a disability who want to work can, but only if the right supports are in place. Disabled people are often prevented from enjoying the same opportunities as other citizens across a range of areas, including education, transport and participation in community life. This is a reality and a lived experience that we must acknowledge, but it is not a reality that I, as Minister of State with responsibility for disability, accept. We must change how we do things and give disabled people the same rights and opportunities as every other citizen. That is what the strategy is about and why it is so important.”
“For example, we continue to recruit therapists from a range of disciplines for our CDNTs and our special schools, but we know there are not enough. That is why we must also invest in third level places for therapists, in alternative therapies and in initiatives like autism assistance dogs and Variety Ireland's recycle mobility trikes, which are so important. While the Government is investing in a massive house building programme, not enough homes are being provided for people with disabilities. We know that when appropriate housing is provided, in places like Glensheen Court in Ennis or at Killorglin in County Kerry, which I recently visited, it makes a massive difference to the lives of disabled people and their families, particularly elderly parents who know their child will have a lifelong home to call their own.”
“This requires the structures and cultures we exist within to be conducive to the full, effective and inclusive participation of disabled people. Realising these rights requires an institutional, environmental and attitudinal alignment with the UNCRPD that comprehensively covers all areas of a person’s life. To achieve the ambition we so clearly set out, we will need stakeholders to hold us - the Government - to account, and tell us what is working well and what needs to be changed. There are many good things happening in the area of disability and incredible work being done in communities across Ireland, and we want to build on this. However, many disabled people rightly believe their needs are not being met and that we need new ways of doing things.”
“This experience is essential to ensure that everything that we aim to achieve in the months and years ahead makes a real difference to individuals and their families. From these engagements, we learned that the key issues impacting the day-to-day lives of disabled people include access to a good education, access to good jobs, reliable and accessible public transport, and the necessary supports to live independently and healthily in their communities. The scope of ambition of the strategy fulfils the Government’s commitment to progressively realising Ireland's implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in ways that will have the maximum benefit for disabled people. In the context of disability, human rights are grounded in the equality, dignity and choice of disabled people.”
“Time and again, disabled people have shared their strong view of “nothing about us without us”. That is why engagement with disabled people and their representative organisations was key in the development of the national strategy, which included 34 focus groups, five town hall events, almost 500 responses to a national survey and more than 80 written submissions received by the Department. Disabled people and their representative organisations have given generously of their time in the development of this document. I give my heartfelt thanks to them. This strategy would not be so ambitious without their input and determination. Thanks to that input, the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030 reflects the lived experience of the very people it is designed to support.”
“I thank all Members for their contributions to this discussion. As Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities, I have witnessed at first hand the passion and commitment that disabled people bring to advocating for a more inclusive Ireland, and for continually highlighting the need to provide more and better services. The Government and I are very conscious of the struggles endured by disabled people and their families and loved ones. We are firmly of the belief that disabled people should be able to access the right services, at the right time, within their own communities, and they should be supported to live independent lives with the same access to opportunity as all other citizens. That is why the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030 is so important.”
“We must stand up against hate wherever it festers, whether online, on our streets, or in our politics and we must be vigilant because progress is not inevitable. In many parts of the world, LGBTQI+ rights are being rolled back. Rights we might have thought secure are now under attack. We must not let that happen here. The Government is committed to building an Ireland where everyone is safe, seen, and supported. The rainbow flag still flies, not just as a symbol of pride, but as a call to action. Let us answer that call with the same hope, the same decency, and solidarity that carried us to that historic day ten years ago.”
“Implementation of the strategy is a programme for Government commitment, a transparent implementation structure, and the publication of annual reports will allow for greater accountability for the delivery of change. While it is important to celebrate Pride and acknowledge the achievements made, we cannot be complacent. We are not at the end of our journey to equality. LGBTQI+ people still face discrimination, mental health challenges, and threats, especially trans people, young people, and those in marginalised communities. We must continue to defend the rights that have been won and to advance those still denied. We in government must ensure our schools are safe for every child. We must ensure our healthcare system meets the needs of every person.”
“This whole-of-government strategy seeks to build on the successes and the achievements of the inaugural strategies and deliver on the key actions to address the continuing challenges LGBTQI+ people face. The strategy has been shaped by reflections and learnings from the implementation of both the LGBTI+ and national youth strategy and the national LGBTI+ inclusion strategy. It is underpinned by human rights principles and is guided by Ireland's international human rights commitments. It is grounded in the voices and the experiences of the LGBTQI+ community. Listening to intersectional voices in particular has supported the strategy in its approach of addressing the specific needs of the most marginalised people in Ireland.”
“We in government acknowledge the challenges the LGBTQI+ community continues to face and we remain deeply committed to the promotion and the protection of LGBTQI+ equality. We will stand firm in the face of rising hate and must ensure that our message of solidarity is loud and clear. As mentioned earlier, the new national LGBTQI+ inclusion strategy is the tool by which this Government has agreed to tackle these issues. It will provide a roadmap towards equality for LGBTQI+ people in Ireland over the coming years and reflect the determination of Government Departments and State agencies to work together to better the lives of LGBTQI+ people.”