Parents of children with special needs have to "jump through hoops" to access basic supports and services, the deputy leader of the Social Democrats has said.
Cian O'Callaghan also told the Dáil there are 14,221 children in Ireland who are overdue an assessment of need.
He recounted the story of Radie Peat, a singer in the Irish band Lankum, and her partner Daniel Lambert, who is the manager of Kneecap, having to fight for services for their autistic daughter, a struggle which they shared on RTÉ's Oliver Callan show.
"They were advised they should leave Dublin. They were told that their child get better support in any other European country, and that they would be better off leaving Ireland," Mr O'Callaghan said.
"There is simply no time to be lost," the deputy added.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said it is his "objective to change this story", and insisted that this is "a key priority" of his.
The size of the waiting list "is not tenable", he added.
He noted a High Court judgment in March 2022 in the case of CTM and JA v HSE which has, according to the HSE, "resulted in a growth in the numbers of overdue assessments of need".
Mr Martin detailed the increase in staff and services in recent years and insisted that, "on the education side", there has been "significant progress".
Dáil told of four-year specialised dental surgery waiting list
Meanwhile, the Sinn Féin leader described stories of children being denied basic medical care as heartbreaking.
Mary Lou McDonald told the Dáil that the parents of a six-year-old autistic boy from Co Waterford, have been told that it will be ten years before he gets vital dental surgery.
The Dáil heard that more than 1,100 children are waiting over four years for specialised dental surgery.
There are almost 25% less public dentists now compared to 2006, Ms McDonald said.
The Taoiseach said it is unacceptable that a young child should be denied dental health care and pledged that a solution would be found.
Large amounts of money have been allocated to dental services and it is unacceptable that children with additional needs have a long wait for treatments, the Taoiseach said.
Additional reporting Mícheál Lehane
