Member's statement: Speech and Language Therapy
Member's statement by Mr Peter Martin on .
- MLA
- Mr Peter Martin
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 15 October 2024
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Speech and Language Therapy
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4592497
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I want to raise the importance of speech and language therapy (SLT), its effectiveness when it is used as an early intervention and the current prevalence of need for it in Northern Ireland. We already know from research that a two-year-old's reading ability can strongly predict their later attainment at school. Therefore, intervening early has innumerable benefits. A recent report by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, which was very appropriately titled 'We are the Village', cites the following statistics that I feel it is important for Members to hear. Some 90% of early years providers have seen an increase in the number of children with speech and language and communication needs, and community paediatricians have witnessed a 91% rise in that group. From 2019-2023, there was a 196% increase in the numbers of children who hold a special educational needs (SEN) statement in nursery and in primary 1. As of June 2023, there were 104 whole-time equivalent vacant SLT posts in Northern Ireland. That is a rate of nearly one in five. In 2021, 2,444 children were on waiting lists for SLT. In 2023, there were 4,527. That represents an 85% increase over that period alone. Those four sets of statistics should be sobering data for Members. I will highlight three modest asks. The first is that we increase the SLT workforce by raising the number of commissioned undergraduate places in Northern Ireland. My understanding is that, in 2023 and 2024 respectively, there were an additional 10 and 12 additional places for students from the Republic of Ireland, but that brings challenges for the royal college in Northern Ireland. It must then facilitate placements in the trusts without any additional funding for placement educators and with no guarantee that the new students will stay in the Northern Ireland workforce on completion of their course. We desperately need additional SLT workforce members, but once therapists qualify, they should remain in Northern Ireland and support our children. My second ask is for the introduction of a professional SLT adviser across the Department of Health and the Department of Education to assist in driving forward positive policy change. My final ask is for the inclusion of additional SLT content in undergraduate and postgraduate teacher training. For school-age pupils, the challenge is now how we manage and support those children who are already —.
393 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.03 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.96).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.96 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 0.70 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.29 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.01 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:26 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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