SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPY: WHY THE WAITING LISTS?
Every parent worries when a young child has delayed speech.
Early assessment and intervention is vital. But it often does not happen
because of a lack of funding.
International research suggests that the case load for a
speech and language therapist should lie somewhere between 30 and 65 cases.
In Ireland, however, the case load of Speech and Language
therapists amounts to an average of 162 cases. This leads to long
waiting lists.
Parents are often forced to go private and pay about €100 an
hour. Yet again, we end up with a two tier health system.