Many children with Down syndrome in Ireland are having to wait years to access vital services through the State, such as speech and language therapy, Down Syndrome Ireland (DSI) has said.

The charity is calling on the Government to increase services available to affected children. It highlighted that due to a lack of early intervention by the State, and a lack of school-based services, many families are having to pay privately for therapists.

These therapists are essential to help children with Down syndrome to learn how to communicate and develop important skills such as feeding and dressing themselves.

"Through our nationwide branch network run almost entirely by volunteer parents, DSI aims to fill these gaping holes in services by offering heavily discounted therapy sessions to parents, who in turn help us by raising funds locally," the charity explained.

It relies almost entirely on public fundraising and in the last five years alone, funding services such as speech and language therapy and occupational therapy, has cost parents and DSI around €5.2 million.

One parent, Eileen Birchall from Tallaght in Dublin, explained that her six-year-old son, Christopher, has not received any State-provided speech and language therapy or occupational therapy for the last three years. He receives subsidised services through DSI's Dublin branch for €55 a fortnight, with the remaining costs covered by the charity.

Without DSI, I really don't know where Christopher would be. It's extraordinary how little State support we've received for Christopher these past few years. Not just that, we worry about his future. My boy is a citizen of this country and put simply, he's been forgotten about. What happens when we're not around to fight for him?" Ms Birchall asked.

This issue was highlighted to coincide with World Down Syndrome Day (March 21). According to DSI chief executive, Pat Clarke, many parents in Ireland feel that their children with Down syndrome are ‘treated like second-class citizens'.

"As well as having a child with a disability, parents have to face the additional stress and worry of having to fundraise and pay for services so their child can reach their full potential. Without DSI, their children would in many cases be left with barely any service provision from the State and it's simply not good enough. We're calling on the Government to act," he said.

For more information on Down Syndrome Ireland, click here

(*Picture of families gathered to mark World Down Syndrome Day 2017, courtesy of DSI)