There is little or no room left for further cuts to frontline health services”.

Recently, I have been responding to HSE plans to merge the Early Intervention teams for Dublin North West and North on June 18th.

At present parents in Dublin 15 cannot access speech and language therapy for their children who need it. I have been campaigning with parents to highlight and resolve this unacceptable situation.

In response the HSE are merging two early intervention teams in north Dublin. While this is welcome in that there will be access to speech and language for kids in Dublin 15 – far more must be done.

Minister Reilly cannot continue to slash health budgets without consequences for patient care. Cuts do not equal savings and all the international evidence shows that early diagnosis and treatment produces greater efficiencies and better outcomes for patients.

I want to make it clear that it is wholly unacceptable for children to wait as much eight months for speech and language therapy. In my mind this amounts to a violation of their rights as young children and as citizens in a modern republic – resources needed to be ring fenced for this area.