Laura Harmon (Labour)

I thank the witnesses for attending. I look forward to engaging with them. It is good to have this discussion. I am sure the committee will be engaging with the HSE throughout the course of its work over a number of years. I thank Mr. Gloster for his opening statement.

I wish to focus on assessments of need. I am from Cork. Recent figures show that there are more than 1,200 individuals who are currently overdue an assessment of need, 77% of whom are overdue by three months. Legally under the Disability Act, people are entitled to an assessment of need within six months. The first three months are taken to process the application and then the application is completed in the following period. As of quarter 1 of 2025, it is concerning that just 7% of assessments of need were completed within the timeframes of the Disability Act. By the HSE's own figures, more than 15,000 were overdue by the end of quarter 1 of 2025. This is projected to rise to more than 25,000 by the end of the year. I note that there is also an 8% increase in those who are overdue this year compared with quarter 1 of 2024. I just wanted to outline that initially.

Early intervention is key for people in terms of getting assessments so that they can move forward with the care they need. The representatives of the HSE have talked about the reforms to the assessment of need. Will they elaborate? What is their view on the legislative reforms that may be proposed by the Government in terms of changing the timeframes in the context of the six-month legal requirement? Are they opposed to changing that?