A newly formed pressure group in Co Galway has claimed it is "worse than intolerable" that infants and toddlers with multiple disabilities have to wait for up to 12 months for intervention and therapy services in the county.
Representatives of the Galway Alliance of Parents and Carers (GAP) are set to meet senior Department of Health and Western Health Board officials next week to highlight their frustrations.
The pressure group was formed because of concerns over the situation faced by 17 families in the city and county who have been told that their children must wait at least a year for badly needed services.
The GAP parent representative, Mr Frank Conaty, said it was incredible that the health authorities continued to preside over a situation which was detrimental to the welfare and future of the children and their families. He said the schooling system, which was already struggling, would receive these children in years to come in a deteriorated state of development.
The parents and carers formed the GAP after the Brothers of Charity Services instigated a waiting list for new referrals to the Early Childhood Services in the county on September 1st last.
Early Childhood Services provides early intervention and therapy services for infants and pre-school children with disabilities and it is the only service provider for the city and county.
"There are now 17 families on the waiting list receiving no service," said Mr Conaty. "In practically all of these cases, the children have multiple disabilities and are in critical need of intervention and therapeutic services."
Mr Conaty said representatives of the alliance group would raise their concerns with Department of Health and Western Health Board officials at a meeting next Tuesday.