Margaret Murphy O'Mahony (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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427. To ask the Minister for Health if Part 2 of the 2005 Disability Act has been fully commenced. [17183/16]

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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All Parts of the Disability Act 2005 have been commenced except for Part 2, relating to the Assessment of Need, which has been partly commenced. In 2008, the then Government decided, in the light of financial circumstances, to defer further commencement of Part 2 of the Disability Act 2005 and the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act (EPSEN) 2004.

The Assessment of Need process, which at present encompasses younger children, provides for the needs of eligible applicants occasioned by their disability to be assessed. The Cross Sectoral Team comprising, inter alia, representatives of the Department of Health, the Department of Education and Skills, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the HSE, which was established to provide for a joint approach to the implementation of the Disability and EPSEN Acts, continues to meet to address issues of mutual concern for children with disabilities.