Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, asked me to pass on her personal thanks to the Senator for his understanding of the situation this morning. She appreciates him taking the time to talk last night. Regarding the specific needs of the Creaney family in Athy, she has taken the correspondence the Senator provided her office on board. While the relevant points in the correspondence of September 2022 were entirely valid at the time, the position has developed greatly in the interim.

The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, acknowledges the challenges that are being faced by children and young people with disabilities and their families in the assessment of need process, but she remains firm in ensuring that they receive the opportunity to access health services in a timely manner. However, under the Disability Act 2005, children do not require an assessment of need to access services. Presently, there are many children in receipt of therapy services who have not gone through the AON process.

Following the High Court ruling on 11 March 2022, to the HSE was required to re-assess children to meet legal requirements. While alternative guidance was developed, the HSE reverted to the pre-2020 process and there may have been a lack of consistency across the country in the application of this interim method. It appears that the correspondence that the Senator sent to the Minister of State referred to the individual who was awaiting an AON within this timeframe.

In July 2023, the head of disability operations at the HSE approved a new and revised standard operating procedure, SOP, which included interim guidance for assessors to provide a clear and consistent approach to managing AONs and the process of referrals. In relation to CHO 7, currently a combined 5,133 AON applications between stage one and stage two are outstanding. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and the HSE are entirely focused on driving down the waiting lists for AONs and this is featured strongly in the roadmap for service improvement from 2023 to 2026. Working groups implementing actions to address AON and workforce recruitment and retention the HSE and its lead agencies are continuing to explore a range of options to address AON waiting lists, including the allocation of a total of €16 million to procure private assessments for children and young people. The HSE also launched the first nationwide children's disability network team, CDNT, recruitment campaign in January 2024, which was titled “Be part of our team, be part of their lives”. So far, approximately 495 applications have been received. The HSE has also informed the Department that the interview stage of the selection process is under way and it is hoped that appointments will commence from the middle of this month onwards.

Regional assessment hubs to undertake AONs are currently in place across the country by the HSE. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, will continue to engage the HSE to advance the appropriate measures to ensure that every family seeking assessment receives one in a timely manner. It is important to acknowledge the services that are currently being delivered by the HSE and its lead agencies were approximately 46,000 children with complex needs are receiving services and supports provided by CDNTs across the State.

In conclusion, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, will underline that she will continue to engage directly with the Senator not just regarding the family in Athy he mentioned but other families across CHO 7 and particularly as they affect Kildare South.