Taoiseach confronted by Laois TD regarding ‘failure’ of special needs services for children

Independent Republican TD Brian Stanley has challenged the Taoiseach in the Dáil regarding what he described as “the failure” of the Government to provide adequate services for children with special needs.

“It’s clear that there has been a lack of planning and reform in terms of how AON (Assessment of Need) are provided for children who may be on the autism spectrum,” Deputy Stanley said.

“Not enough clinicians and therapists have been trained and recruited in sufficient numbers in recent years.”

The Laois TD bemoaned the HSE’s approval of new private clinicians to help reduce waiting times, saying the process was “just too slow”, noting that several clinicians are waiting up to nine months to be approved.

“The HSE has stated that the assessments of need for 15,292 children are overdue, meaning they have gone past the legal timeframe of six months,” Deputy Stanley said.

“A total of 13,002 have been waiting for more than nine months,” which he said “is totally unacceptable.”

The Independent Republican said those affected are “missing out on essential interventions at a crucial point in their development” and pointed to an estimation from “HSE sources” which indicate the number could rise to “25,000 by the end of the year.”

Deputy Stanley called on Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD, to “put some urgency” on the matter, and “get the HSE to shorten the procedure period.”

In response, the Taoiseach said: “Progress is being made even within the existing system.

“There is no doubt there is a significant increase in people waiting. However, over 4,000 assessments were completed in 2024, a 30% increase on 2023.

“Some 1,400 assessments were completed in the first three months of this year, a 65% increase compared with the same period last year.

“A total of 2,479 assessments were commissioned from private providers at a cost of nearly €7 million, targeting the longest waiting families through the HSE’s waiting list initiative.

“We will do everything we can to accelerate procedures, but we need to change the legislation so that we prioritise access for children to therapies.

“At the moment, the way things are legislated for, it is the assessment of need first and then there is a long delay while they are awaiting access to services. The CDNTs (Children’s Disability Network Teams) are getting more people recruited and that is also a positive.”

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