Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

775. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the additional funding that has been allocated towards the assessment of needs for children since the 3 April 2025 in order that no child has to wait over three years for an assessment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65951/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Government recognises that there are unacceptable delays in accessing Assessments of Need. This Department and the HSE are committed to addressing these delays.

It is important to note that children do not require an Assessment of Need to access health services, including Primary Care, Children’s Disability Network Teams, or Mental Health Services. However, demand for Assessments of Need has increased significantly in recent years, a reflection of both the increase in population and the number of families exploring all options for accessing services for their child.

Over the past 2 years, there has been a noted improvement in the number of completed Assessments with over 4,100 completed in 2024, an increase of 30% compared to 2023. HSE data shows this trend is continuing with a 57% year-on-year increase in completed assessments in the first nine months of 2025.

This has been achieved by a number of measures, including the Assessment of Need Targeted Waitlist Initiative. This Initiative targets those families waiting longest for Assessments of Need, with the HSE reimbursing clinicians directly through the procurement of capacity from approved private providers. Budget 2026 provides for an additional €20m for the delivery of approximately 6,000 further clinical assessments. This will be in addition to over 6,300 clinical assessments commissioned since the initiative started in June 2024. Recent data provided by the HSE shows that 2,742 of these were commissioned in the period April to September 2025 at a cost of €11.7m.

While it is important to use private capacity to support the completion of Assessments of Need into 2026, we must ensure that the public system can meet the clearly growing demand. This Department is working with the HSE to ensure the delivery of actions to support the efficient delivery of Assessments of Need within the public system with funding of €0.5m allocated this year to support this work. This includes improved training for staff involved in the delivery of AONs, additional administrative supports, and changes to processes where necessary to ensure an efficient and effective system.

Work is also underway to identify relevant legislative changes relating to Part 2 of the Disability Act 2005, which addresses Assessment of Need. This aims to support the effective and efficient delivery of Assessments of Need.

It is intended to bring forward this legislation before the year end. It will not affect the statutory right of any individual to access an Assessment of Need or the statutory timeframes set out in the Act.

The provision of an effective and efficient Assessment of Need system continues to be a priority for the Government