Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 December 2025
865. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will publish the criteria and decision-making processes in respect of her proposed changes to the assessment of need process; who will now carry out these assessments; the training or safeguards that will be put in place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [72506/25]
View answer866. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her plans to engage in public consultation with the education community, clinicians and families before the implementation of her proposed changes to the assessment of need process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [72509/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 865 and 866 together.
Under the Disability Act, an Assessment of Need is an assessment process carried out by the HSE where a person is of the opinion that he/she may have a disability, for anyone born on/after 1st June 2002. It first establishes whether the person has a disability (as defined within the Act). It then identifies the health and education needs of the person with a disability and the services required to meet those needs.
On December 9th, Government announced a series of reforms to the Assessment of Need (AON) process which will make the process more effective and efficient for children and families. These reforms include changes to Part 2 of the Disability Act, 2005, which provides for Assessments of Need. The General Scheme of the Disability (Amendment) Bill 2025 was approved by Government on 9 December and will be published on the Department’s website shortly.
These changes will not remove any rights for parents to apply for an Assessment of Need for their child, nor will they alter the statutory six-month timeline set out in the Disability Act.
The Department is currently at an early stage of the legislative process. It is expected that the General Scheme will undergo pre-legislative scrutiny by the Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters early in the New Year. As the Deputy is aware, the Committee may invite stakeholders to participate and produce a report with recommendations to the Bill based on its scrutiny.
In tandem with this, officials in the Department will be conducting stakeholder engagement sessions with a range of groups, the first of which is scheduled to take place this week. This will build on previous engagement by the Department with the Department of Education and Youth, the National Council for Special Education, the HSE and the National Clinical Programme for People with Disability.
It is also important to note that the work on the proposed changes to Part 2 of the Disability Act was informed by inputs from stakeholders during the development of the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People and by the review of the Interim Guidance for the HSE Assessment of Need Standard Operating Procedure, undertaken by the National Clinical Programme for People with Disability (NCPPD). The latter was supported by a multistakeholder Task Group who contributed to the evidence base for changes.
Section 8 of the Disability Act, 2005 makes provision for the carrying out of Assessments of Need, including the appointment of assessment officers by the HSE. They are responsible for carrying out assessments of applicants for assessments of need or for arranging for them to be carried out by other persons with appropriate experience. Notwithstanding this, the HSE assessment officers are solely responsible for the production of the assessment report as set out in Section 8(7) of the Act. This will remain unchanged under the proposed reforms to the AON system.
As part of the reforms to the Assessment of Need process, additional supports will be provided for the assessment officers including:
• The development of new statutory guidelines to ensure that Assessments of Need focus on identifying a child’s needs, engaging in more intensive assessments only where required to identify those needs.
• The establishment by the HSE of eleven new teams, initially, to support HSE assessment processes, including Assessments of Need. Each team will include a psychologist, a speech and language therapist, an occupational therapist, and an administrator, providing clinical guidance where required throughout the process.
• A continued focus by the HSE on the training and development of assessment officers.
The Department is also working with the HSE to identify further opportunities to enhance processes and increase administrative supports for HSE assessment officers.
The provision of an effective and efficient Assessment of Need system continues to be a priority for the Government.
