Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The recent High Court ruling of 11 March is a damning indictment of the HSE assessment of needs process. This process has denied children with disability the right to a proper assessment of needs. Standard operating procedure is leading assessment officers to err in law, often leading to catastrophic consequences for children. It is absolutely astounding that this process could continue for so long in this manner. It is an additional affront to the parents of children with disabilities that the annual report required by the Disability Act has not been submitted by the HSE since 2015. No report in six years and no action being taken in this regard is absolutely scandalous.

The High Court decision must be heeded and the Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities must act urgently to address the shortcomings in the assessment of needs process for children with disabilities. My colleagues brought forward a motion on this matter on 8 March last and, quite correctly, the Government did not oppose it. Now, it must implement the calls made in that motion so this denial of rights can be rectified. Nothing short of this will do. The rights of children with disabilities cannot be denied any longer. As I said previously on this matter, parents should not have to contact their local Deputy in an effort to have their child seen by an assessment officer. Unfortunately, in many cases this is what they have to do. The Minister must act swiftly. One of the most important elements is to ensure the current assessment of needs process is binned as it is not fit for purpose. The IT system and data bases blamed by the HSE must be upgraded immediately to accurately maintain and report on the data, as required under the Disability Act, since 2015.

We must see action from the Government now. We must ensure that children are not waiting and that this court decision is heeded. The Department must act on that as a matter of urgency. Children cannot wait much longer for that.

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