Opposition table joint motion as over 15K children overdue Assessment of Needs
The five main opposition parties will table a motion in the Dáil next week to put pressure on the Government to provide these services.
An Assessment of Need (AON) identifies whether a child has a disability, the nature and extent of the disability, and any health and education needs that may arise.
Under law, once the HSE receives an application in writing, they must start the assessment within three months and complete it within an additional three months.
Details from the HSE given to Sinn Féin TD Claire Kerrane confirmed that the number of AONs overdue for completion at the end of March 2025 stood at 15,296.
This represents an increase of 8% on the end 2024 figure of 14,221.
Some 1,412 AONs were completed in the first quarter of 2025, a 65% increase on the same period in 2024 of 849.
The HSE stated that the percentage of these AONs that show 'No Disability' has increased from 15.8% in 2010 to 26% in Q1 2025.
They also confirmed to Deputy Kerrane that 3,131 new applications were received in the first three months of the year, a 20% increase on the figure for the same period last year of 2,603.
The HSE told Ms Kerrane that a March 2022 High Court case stated that the HSE's AON checks were not meeting the standard required under the Disabilities Act, and it is now required to deliver diagnostic assessments where necessary.
Tipperary teenager and disabilities campaigner Cara Darmody will begin a 50-hour protest outside the Dáil next week.
In an unusual move, Sinn Féin, Labour, the Social Democrats, People Before Profit and Independent Ireland have tabled a joint motion which will be debated in the Dáil next Tuesday to coincide with the protest.
The motion states that children are 'legally entitled to an assessment of their health and education needs' within six months and that 'the law is being broken with respect to the 15,296 children whose assessment of need is overdue'.
It calls on the Government to 'comply with its legal obligations' and to make funding available for 'Cara's Fund' to clear the backlog.
The opposition has also called on the Government to 'set a specific target date by which the Government aims to comply with the legal entitlement to an Assessment of Need under the Disability Act 2005'.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said that children have been 'scandalously left waiting for services and support'
Deputy Kerrane, meanwhile, stated that there has been a 'frightening increase in the waiting list for Assessment of Needs from 500 in the summer of 2021 to over 15,000 now'.
She added: 'Worryingly, the HSE anticipates that this will only get worse and expects that by the end of 2025, there could be as many as 24,796 assessments of need due for completion.
'It is clear that the government still does not have a plan to stop the state from breaking the law and to ensure that children get their assessment of needs within six months.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
42 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Ireland's online safety code can continue but further legal challenges likely over regulation
The High Court's rejection of a challenge by tech company X against Ireland's online safety code will come as a relief to the Government and the regulator Coimisiún na Meán . The code is viewed in Government as crucial in protecting children from dangers in the digital world. But regulation of the tech industry, particularly from Europe, is facing strong opposition in Washington where some politicians argue it could curtail the free speech of Americans. And while Elon Musk's X did not succeed on Tuesday, experts believe it is inevitable there will be more litigation in the future over online regulation. READ MORE The online safety code was introduced last year with the then Minister for Media Catherine Martin arguing that it represented 'a big step forward in online safety' that would 'make all of us, but particularly our children, safer online'. Last September then Taoiseach Simon Harris told the tech industry that the world of self-regulation was changing. But in the intervening period, there has been strong pushback from some quarters internationally about the regulation of the tech sector. In a Washington controlled by Donald Trump such regulation in some cases is characterised as censorship. [ What are the new online safety regulations that Big Tech is unhappy about – and will they work? Opens in new window ] Ireland's online safety code brought the State in line with the EU's Audiovisual Media Services Directive. Photograph: Getty Images In June US secretary of state Marco Rubio warned of visa bans on foreign nationals deemed to be censoring Americans. He suggested the new policy could target officials regulating US tech companies. Last week the US House of Representatives judiciary committee issued an interim report that saw the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) as a 'foreign censorship threat'. 'European regulators define political speech, humour, and other First Amendment-protected content as disinformation and hate speech, and then require platforms to change their global content moderation policies to censor it.' Ireland's online safety code brought the State in line with the EU's Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD). Ms Martin said new rules would introduce 'real accountability' for online video-sharing platforms and require them 'to take action to protect those that use their platforms, including by having robust complaints-handling procedures and introducing effective age-verification'. The code meant platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, would be obliged to comply or face fines of up to €20 million, or 10 per cent of annual turnover, whichever was greater. However, X, in its legal challenge, contended the code impermissibly went further than the AVMSD. It said it covered areas within the scope of another set of rules – the EU's DSA, which aims to prevent illegal and harmful activities online and the spread of disinformation. Coimisiún na Meán welcomed the ruling and said it would study it in detail before making further comment. Dr TJ McIntyre, associate professor in the Sutherland School of Law at UCD , said the High Court ruling was important in the narrow sense that provisions of the code related to age assurance obligations could continue for the time being. He said there has now been two separate court cases but there was likely to more litigation in the future over online regulation.
Irish Examiner
42 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Government's order to zone more land for housing may not lead to surge in construction
At the final Cabinet meeting before the Government heads off on its summer break, there was a slew of housing proposals brought forward. Alongside more funds being provided to build social homes, and consultation beginning on planning exemptions for cabins in people's back gardens, there was an instruction to local councils to begin zoning more land for housing. But what does this instruction mean, and what will its impact be on Ireland's housing crisis? What has the Government done? It has essentially told all of Ireland's local councils to go and reopen their existing development plans, with an explicit call for more land to be zoned for housing. Housing minister James Browne signalled his intention to do this as far back as April, saying that councils should complete their rezoning efforts by the end of the year. 'I don't see any reason why we won't be able to access this land by the end of the year,' Mr Browne said then. 'The local authorities can do it quite quickly, and I expect to see local authorities move with the urgency that I'm moving with, and that the people who will be watching this expect the urgency, so we can deliver those homes that we need.' How much land is the Government looking to be zoned? The guidelines published call for enough land to be zoned to allow for 55,000 homes per year. However, additional headroom for 50% is also provided, meaning that land for up to 83,000 homes is permitted to be zoned each year. Where is the Government targeting its development? The National Planning Framework, published in April, outlines that 50% of development should be targeted within Ireland's five largest cities — Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, and Waterford — while the remaining 50% of development should occur in towns, villages and rural areas around the country. Are there individual targets for each council? Yes. This is because each individual council needs different levels of land to be zoned. For example, cities such as Dublin and Cork will require an increased level of zoned land compared to more rural counties such as Roscommon and Carlow. At Dublin City Council, the Government will permit the local authority zone enough land to build up to 8,196 houses per year. More rural areas have much lower requirements, with the requirement to zone land just enough to build 201 houses in Leitrim per year. Any more specific instructions for councils? Yes. In urban areas, the councils will be asked to prioritise development on brownfield sites in towns and cities, in an attempt to avoid urban sprawl into the countryside. Does this mean 83,000 houses will be built each year? While local authorities will be permitted to zone significantly more housing, it does not mean there's going to be a massive uplift in construction. The Government's own National Planning Framework sets out the overall target for housing delivery as 303,000 houses between 2025 and 2030. This means an average of 50,500 houses will need to be built each year, far below the 83,000 maximum that can be zoned each year. The highest level of housebuilding in recent years came in 2006, when over 86,000 houses were built. This would be a significant leap from where the State is at present, with 30,300 being built in 2024.
Irish Times
42 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Who is Justin Kelly, the Garda commissioner in waiting?
Having joined An Garda Síochána as a recruit at the Garda College, Templemore, Co Tipperary, in 1992, Deputy Commissioner Justin Kelly will now be responsible for leading the force when Garda Commissioner Drew Harris retires on September 1st. The Government on Tuesday confirmed the appointment of Kelly, a 53-year-old from Dublin 6 , as Garda commissioner. The contract is for five years, on a current salary of €314,512. Kelly is relatively young to take on the top policing post in the Republic. And as the retirement age in the force was increased from 60 to 62 years, he could serve as commissioner for the next nine years. That is assuming he would want to, and that he would be offered contract extensions by the Government, though extensions are common for senior officers. An athlete who still runs the marathon in under four hours, Kelly emerged as the preferred candidate from a recruitment competition, which attracted 14 applications for the job, that began in May. It concluded last week when the final interviews were conducted. While he has no public profile to speak of – something that will now change quickly – he is well known and popular across the Garda. News of his appointment was well received across the ranks, especially in the context of concerns that a foreign police officer, or even a civilian, could be parachuted into the Garda commissioner's role. 'He'd be seen as 'one of our own', if you like,' said one source. 'He's come up through the ranks and I suppose he'd be someone who knows the experience of the average [garda] member because he's lived that experience.' Other sources said he was regarded as a 'real police man' and someone who had a track record in crime investigation rather than 'gimmick police work'. Kelly is a married man with children and cut his teeth as a rank-and-file garda in some of Dublin's busiest stations. He is best known for his involvement in policing operations to combat serious organised crime. Last year, in an attempt to strengthen ties between the Garda and international law enforcement, Kelly went to Colombia . He ventured into the jungle with police commandos to view coca crops and just-discovered cocaine production facilities. He has also been to Dubai to build relationships with its police there, as the force continues to pursue the Kinahan cartel 's leaders and other Irish drug dealers. He began his career policing the streets of Dublin while attached to Garda stations in Clondalkin, Blanchardstown and Tallaght. Once he was promoted for the first time – from the rank of garda to sergeant – his ascent up the ranks was rapid. He has also accrued diverse experience in policing and academia. Kelly's early years as a manager in the force were as an inspector, leading uniformed frontline gardaí in Clondalkin and Blanchardstown . He also spent time as a detective inspector at the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau which is a hands-on role where he would have managed investigations and on-the-ground operations involving surveillance, intelligence gathering, in addition to search–and-arrest operations. In 2001, he was seconded to work for the United Nations in Bosnia Herzegovina, where he helped build the capacity of local law enforcement in the aftermath of the Balkan War. As a detective superintendent, he managed the Garda National Protective Services Bureau which investigates crimes involving vulnerable victims, including sexual offences and domestic violence. At the rank of chief superintendent, both in uniform and as detective, he was leader of the Special Detective Unit, the force's counterterrorism squad. When appointed to the rank of assistant commissioner, he was in charge of the Garda's serious and organised crime branch – one of the most pressurised positions in operational policing. In that role, which he filled until last October, he was in charge of most of the Garda specialist units that tackle crimes as varied as drug trafficking, gang feuding, fraud, cybercrime and immigration, among others. He was appointed to the rank of deputy commissioner – in charge of security, strategy and governance – just nine months ago, but has now already left that rank behind and secured the top job for which he was seen as the clear favourite from the moment it was confirmed he had applied for the role. Kelly has a law degree from University College Dublin, a Master's of Criminal Justice from the John Jay College, New York, an MBA from Dublin City University and a Master's of Serious Crime Investigation from the University of Limerick.
