Sinn Féin TD Johnny Mythen has raised the issue of waiting lists for speech and language therapy for the County Wexford area with the Taoiseach Micheál Martin. 

Teachta Mythen said: “There are over 1,000 people awaiting an assessment and speech and language therapy in Wexford. 606 of them haven’t even had their assessment yet. 460 are awaiting their therapy. 179 of them have been waiting over a year for their therapy to start. 

“I know that the Covid-19 emergency has slowed down services, but that does not explain people waiting over a year. Speech and language therapy is a vital service that supports people, from those who have had a stroke to children with additional needs, to communicate. 

“I raised this matter with an Taoiseach Micheál Martin this week in the Dáil as absolutely unacceptable, and asked him to address the staffing short fall in County Wexford without delay.

“In many cases, delaying speech and language therapy leads to the patients further deteriorating. The longer they wait, the more therapy they may need. This is illogical, uneconomic and so unfair. 

“That is why I raised this issue with the Taoiseach and I will be waiting the situation closely”