'Crisis': Outcry over community care waiting lists in Kildare

The critical comments were made by a Kildare-based TD

By Ciarán Mather Published 3rd Sep 2026, 17:00 BST 'Crisis': Outcry over community care waiting lists in Kildare | PHOTOGRAPH CREDIT: CANSU HANGUL / PEXELS The critical comments were made by a Kildare-based TD Sign up to our Kildare Live newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know you can manage your profile, and explore all of the available newsletters from Kildare Live within your account.

Delays in community care waiting lists for counties Kildare , Wicklow and beyond have been criticised by a Kildare-based TD.

Sinn Féin TD for Kildare South, Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh , criticised the delays and called for ‘an urgent plan’ to tackle growing primary and community care waiting lists.

As part of this plan, the Deputy explained that she wanted to see the provision of additional staff, clear waiting-time targets, and the monthly publication of waiting lists.

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The Kildare town -based politician revealed that new figures, which were received through a Parliamentary Question, show that 258,629 people are waiting for an initial appointment across community services, with almost 83,000 involving waits of more than a year.

Speaking further this matter, she said: “These figures show the scale of the crisis in community care; there are 90,003 people waiting for physiotherapy assessment and more than 60,000 waiting for a first occupational therapy assessment.

“Children are being badly failed; more than 17,000 children have waited over a year for an occupational therapy assessment, while 1,647 children have been waiting more than two years for an initial speech and language therapy assessment.”

Sinn Féin TD for Kildare South, Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh | FILE PHOTOGRAPH She continued: “In Kildare and West-Wicklow alone, there are 3,200 people waiting for an occupational therapy assessment and 1,563 have been waiting more than a year.

“The figures for children are particularly poor; there are 1,720 children waiting for OT and 1,229 have been waiting more than a year.

“This is on top of the near one million people on acute hospital waiting lists, and runs completely contrary to the Sláintecare commitment to move more care into the community.”

Deputy Ní Raghallaigh also claimed that her party has outlined ‘a clear alternative’ in order resolve the dilemma: “Recruit more therapists, nurses and other community staff, expand multidisciplinary teams and training places, target additional resources at areas with the longest waits and use short-term additional capacity to clear backlogs while public services are built up.

“We have also published legislation to require community waiting lists to be published regularly by the NTPF.

“We need transparency, but above all we need the staff and capacity to ensure people get the care they need much sooner and closer to home.”

She concluded by alleging: “Decades of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in power has led to record hospital trolley figures during the summer months, vacant posts in critical health services and spiralling waiting lists; this is a government and a Minister [referring to the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll McNeill TD, Fine Gael] with no plan, with the health service limping from one crisis to the next.”

The Leinster Leader has contacted the Department of Health in relation to Deputy Ní Raghallaigh.