Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue of assessments of need. She mentioned my trip to Castleblayney last Monday and I thank her for the warm reception I received. It was great to meet the families, parents and carers and to say well done to everyone directly involved.

As the Deputy may be aware, Part 2 of the Disability Act 2005 provides for a statutory system for the assessment of individual health service needs, an assessment report, a service statement and a complaints mechanism. Since its commencement in 2007, there have been significant year-on-year increases in the number of children applying both for assessment of need and for disability services generally. Regrettably, these increases have led to extended waiting periods being experienced, with almost 4,000 applications overdue for completion. The Deputy is not exaggerating, therefore, when she raises these issues. The HSE and I recognise that assessments of need and early intervention services for children with disabilities are paramount and need to be improved. I am aware the HSE has undertaken a number of initiatives to address the excessive waiting times.

Assessment of need compliance improvement plans are in place in all areas and are being actively monitored. Additional resources have been allocated to the areas with the most significant backlogs and those areas have shown a steady decrease in percentage of overdue assessments over the first six months of this year. HSE disability services is currently engaged in a major reconfiguration of its existing therapy resources for children with disabilities into multi-disciplinary geographically based teams, as part of its national programme on progressing disability services for children and young people, 0 to 18 years. The key objective of this programme is to bring about equity of access to disability services and consistency of service delivery, with a clear pathway for children with disabilities and their families to services, regardless of where they live, what school they go to or the nature of the individual child’s difficulties. Evidence to date from areas where this has been rolled out shows that implementation of this programme will also have a positive impact on waiting lists both for assessments of need and therapy provision. It is estimated that, on average, one in five children completing an assessment of need do not have a disability. As Deputy Smyth said, I want to focus on the children in most need, and 20% do not have a disability. The introduction of a new standard operating procedure, SOP, for carrying out assessments of need is expected to reduce the number of inappropriate referrals for assessment and will facilitate more timely access for children and young people. While the introduction of the SOP has been delayed by necessary discussions and consultations with professional bodies, I understand that this process is now entering its final stages.

The Deputy will also be aware that funding for an additional 100 therapy posts was secured as part of budget 2019. These additional posts, along with the reconfiguration of services and other initiatives outlined, are expected to have a significant positive impact on waiting times for assessment of need and ultimately therapy service delivery. It will also help meet the needs of children and young people in a more efficient, effective and equitable manner. I accept the Deputy's point about there being 177 children in Cavan and Monaghan. Something must be done. It is unacceptable that Cavan and Monaghan have been without an officer for nine months and that children are waiting for four years and five months. That is why I am pushing very strongly to resolve these issues.

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