Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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361. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to outline the actions that will be taken to deal with the HSE’s failure to comply with the Disability Act 2005 (details supplied). [8938/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The Disability Act outlines the statutory timelines under which Assessments of Need under the Act must be completed. While the HSE endeavours to meet its legislative obligations under the Act, unfortunately it has struggled to achieve compliance with these timeframes.

The demand for Assessment of Need (AON) has increased significantly in recent years, a reflection of both the increase in population and of families exploring all options for accessing services for their child. The HSE advise that, in 2024, they received 10,690 applications, more than double the number received in 2020 (c. 4,700 applications). However, the HSE note that a total of 4,162 AONs were completed in 2024, a 30% increase on the 3,205 completed in previous years.

CDNTs provide Assessments of Need (AONs) and deliver services or therapies to children and their families. There is a need to strike an appropriate balance between the two, as an increased focus on delivery of the former inevitably reduces capacity to deliver the latter. The current delays in accessing AONs and therapy interventions are acknowledged and work is ongoing by the HSE to maximise the capacity of CDNTs via recruitment campaigns and other measures, including the provision of funding to source assessments through private providers.

In May 2024, the Government announced a decision to finance an Assessment of Need (AON) waiting list initiative, through the procurement of private assessments for long-waiting families. The waiting list initiative targets those families waiting longest for AONs, with the HSE reimbursing clinicians directly through the procurement of capacity from approved private providers.

The HSE advise that by the end of 2024, in the order of 2,479 AONs were commissioned from private providers during the months of June to December at a total cost of circa €8.2m. The Government have continued this Assessment of Need Waiting List Initiative into 2025.

Whilst CHOs, teams, lead agencies and private providers continue to address AON demand as a legislative priority, monthly AON targets to achieve the end target identified in the Roadmap will be included in each CHO's Service Improvement Plan.

In addition, the rollout of Regional Assessment Hubs will see the provision of personnel dedicated to the delivery of AON, while preserving the time of other clinical staff for the purposes of therapy interventions for children within the CDNT network.

Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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362. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to outline an expected and realistic timeline for when the HSE will have upwards of 70% of assessment of needs reports completed within six months, as outlined by the Disability Act 2005; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8939/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The Assessment of Need (AON) process, as set out in the Disability Act, aims to identify whether a person has a disability, the nature and extent of the disability, any health and education needs arising from that disability, as well as what services are required to meet those needs. It should be noted that Children who require services from a CDNT do not require a diagnosis or statutory Assessment of Need (AON).

The demand for AONs has increased significantly in recent years, a reflection of both the increase in population and of families exploring all options for accessing services for their child. AON waiting lists are growing as demand outstrips capacity. The HSE advise that, in 2024, they received 10,690 applications, more than double the number received in 2020 (c. 4,700 applications). The current delays in accessing AONs, and the subsequent delays in receiving reports, are acknowledged, and work is ongoing by the HSE to maximise the capacity of CDNTs via recruitment campaigns and other measures, including sourcing assessments through private providers. Despite these challenges, a total of 4,162 AONs were completed in 2024, a 30% increase on the 3,205 completed in 2023.

Whilst CHOs, teams, lead agencies and private providers continue to address AON demand as a legislative priority, monthly AON targets to achieve the end target identified in the Progressing Disability Services (PDS) Roadmap will be included in each CHO's Service Improvement Plan. In addition, the rollout of Regional Assessment Hubs will see the provision of personnel dedicated to the delivery of AON, while preserving the time of other clinical staff for the purposes of therapy interventions for children within the CDNT network.