Over 160 children across West waiting more than one year for speech and language therapy assessment

Galway Bay fm newsroom - Over 160 children in the West have been waiting for more than a year for an initial speech and language therapy assessment.

According to figures obtained under freedom of information, 163 children in the Galway, Mayo and Roscommon area, have been on the waiting list for over 12 months.

Nationally nearly 3,700 children are still waiting for their first assessment with a therapist.

Meanwhile, 516 children across the country have been waiting over two years.

Tanya Ward, the Chief Executive of the Children's Rights Alliance, says long delays can badly affect a child's development.