Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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23. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the process that follows a legal challenge taken against the HSE by parents of a child not given an assessment of needs within the statutory six months; what follows a legal challenge that is successful; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43545/24]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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The Assessment of Need process is set out in the Disability Act, 2005. The aim of an Assessment of Need under the Disability Act is 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.

The Disability Act outlines the statutory timelines under which Assessments of Need under the Act must be completed. In summary, the assessment report must be completed within 6 months of the date the application was received. There is a detailed process available to those who wish to take a legal challenge. In brief, the process involves:

1. Complaint issued to the HSE under s14(1)(b) of the Disability Act 2005 - investigated by a Disability Complaints Officer.

2. If it is found that the AON was not commenced or completed with the statutory timeframes, the Disability Complaints Officer will issue a report that the HSE have failed to commence/complete the AON within the specified period and will recommend that it be commenced/completed by a certain date.

3. If the Applicant is unhappy with a decision of the Disability Complaints Officer, they can appeal the decision to the Disability Appeals Officer, an independent office under my remit, under s18 of the Disability Act.

4. If the HSE do not action the recommendations of the Disability Complaints Officer or the Disability Appeals Officer within 3 months, proceedings can be brought before Dublin Circuit Court under s22 of the Disability Act 2005 to enforce the recommendation by way of Court Order.

It is important to note that where timeframes have not been adhered to, and where there is a resultant legal challenge, the HSE do not contest such applications in the Circuit Court and consent to orders to complete the Assessment of Need. In practical terms, the HSE advises that it complies with whatever the Court requests the HSE to do, which in most cases would be an order to complete the Assessment of Need.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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In the first instance, I wish to highlight that children do not require a diagnosis or an Assessment of Need as defined by the Disability Act (2005) in order to access a CDNT service. They can be referred by a healthcare professional, parent/carer to the CDNT for children with complex needs as a result of their disability, or to Primary Care for children with non-complex needs.

The core focus of the HSE’s Children’s Disability Services is to ensure that children, with complex interdisciplinary needs, and their families receive an appropriate and accessible family centred service.

With regard to particular locations in Tipperary, Cashel is CDNT 4 and Clonmel is CDNT 5. There are currently 402 children on all waiting lists within CDNT 4. This includes access and assessments to SLT, OT, Social Work, Psychology, Nursing, Autism Diagnosis, Dietetics and Physiotherapy.

In CDNT 5, there are currently 119 children on all waiting lists which include access or assessments to SLT, OT, Social Work, Psychology, Nursing, Autism Diagnosis, Dietetics and Physiotherapy.

The HSE advise that there is currently a national campaign for basic grade clinicians for all disciplines specific to the South East region including Tipperary South. In conjunction with this, there is a regional campaign for senior clinicians of all disciplines for the South East including Tipperary South.

The HSE has informed me that there are no children on a waiting list for commencement of their Assessment of Need (AON) application. All completed applications under AON commence within one week of being received.