The Government and I wish to acknowledge the importance of early intervention for children with disabilities and ensuring they receive the right services at the right time.
HSE Children’s Disability Services has undergone significant reform and restructuring over the past few years. The core focus of this change is to ensure that children and their families, with complex interdisciplinary needs, will receive an appropriate and accessible family centred service.
Progress is being made, demonstrated by the 44,739 children with complex needs who were receiving supports and services from Children’s Disability Network Teams at the end of December 2025.
The HSE has also made real progress in reducing waiting lists whilst recognising that there is more to do. In 2025, waiting lists were reduced by 28%. In the National Service Plan for 2026, the HSE has committed to a further 25% reduction.
Unfortunately, children on Children's Disability Network Team registers, both on waiting lists and on open caseloads, are likely to be waiting for some aspect of their intervention. As an interdisciplinary service, vacancies can further restrict the capacity to provide an intervention that requires more than one discipline.
According to the HSE, there are 114 children on the Network 5 Clonmel waiting list. 59 children are on the waiting list over 12 months, while 475 children are on the open case load.
Of 18.6 posts on the Clonmel team 11.0 remain vacant.
As with other areas, Disability Services within Integrated Health Area Carlow/Kilkenny/South Tipperary are continuing to experience significant recruitment challenges. The HSE is operating in a competitive market and there are significant shortages of qualified healthcare professionals nationally and internationally.
In Budget 2026 alone, more than €3.8 billion has been allocated for Disability Services, which represents an overall increase since 2020 of €1.8bn. The Government has provided funding for additional posts to enhance the capacity of Children’s Disability Network Teams and shorten waiting times in recent years, with further investment in Budget 2026 to fund 150 posts for Children’s Disability Network Teams.
The HSE report a 28% increase in staffing levels nationwide from October 2023 to October 2025. This equates to an additional 448 Whole-Time Equivalents including an additional 321 Health and Social Care Professionals.
To continue this progress, the HSE is driving intensive domestic and international recruitment efforts.
A dedicated Disability Workforce Strategy will be developed by the HSE in 2026, to meet growing service demands and address recruitment and retention challenges.
Student placements on Children’s Disability Network Teams will continue to be expanded, alongside a continued growth in the number of places in higher education, to develop the pipeline of future therapists.
There are also initiatives including engaging with the employment market and students to improve the perception and increase interest in working in this area.
