AOTI highlights urgent need to address Occupational Therapy waiting lists
AOTI has highlighted the impact of chronic understaffing and lengthy waiting lists for Primary Care Occupational Therapy following media coverage in the Irish Independent of serious access issues in Co. Offaly. AOTI CEO Odhrán Allen spoke to the Irish Independent about the scale of the challenge, both in Offaly and nationally, and the urgent need to ensure people can access Occupational Therapy when they need it.
The most recent figures for Offaly, published in November 2025, showed that 791 people were waiting for Primary Care Occupational Therapy, with the longest wait recorded at 352 weeks, almost seven years. These figures do not provide a complete county-wide picture, as data for East Offaly was reported together with South Laois. The situation in Offaly reflects wider challenges facing Occupational Therapy services across the country. A national HSE return from February 2026 showed that more than 55,000 people were waiting for a first Primary Care Occupational Therapy assessment. Almost 24,000 of those waiting were aged 65 and over, with almost 7,000 older people waiting for more than a year. For AOTI, these figures reflect what Occupational Therapists working across services have been telling us in recent years about the pressures they face and the impact those pressures are having on the people who need support.
Timely access to Occupational Therapy helps people maintain their independence and participate in the everyday activities that are important to them. For older people in particular, Occupational Therapy can help prevent functional decline, reduce the risk of falls and support people to remain safely in their own homes for longer. Delays in accessing services can mean that a person's needs have changed significantly by the time they are seen and may contribute to avoidable hospital admissions or admission to long-term care. AOTI has consistently highlighted that these waiting lists cannot be addressed without tackling the workforce shortages that underpin them. Speaking to the *Irish Independent*, AOTI CEO Odhrán Allen called for Occupational Therapy posts lost from Primary Care through the HSE Pay and Numbers Strategy to be restored and for workforce planning to be based on actual population need and service demand.
Commenting on the current situation, Odhrán said that chronic under-investment and understaffing have contributed to the continued growth in waiting lists and have left many people waiting far too long for the support they need. Advocating on the issues that matter to Occupational Therapists is a central part of AOTI's role. By highlighting the experiences of members and the consequences of inadequate staffing and long waiting lists, AOTI will continue to press for the investment needed to ensure that people can access Occupational Therapy services in a timely manner.
You can read the full Irish Independent article here.
