Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 December 2025
65. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the changes made to assessment of need; the benefits that will be brought with these changes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [73265/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder 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 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 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 proposed legislative changes to the Disability Act 2005 are intended to support more effective delivery of Assessments of Need, and to provide clearer guidance and supports so that the process can be made more efficient, reduce delays and allow therapists to spend more time delivering services.
Key features of the bill are to include:
• An increased focus on the identification of a person’s needs and the services to meet those needs, rather than on the nature of their disability.
• The creation of statutory guidelines to support and enhance the decision-making capacity of HSE assessment officers, who are responsible for the production of assessment of need reports.
• A focus on the use of appropriate and proportionate clinical assessment(s) during the assessment of need process to ensure that they should only be used where required to establish the child’s needs.
In conjunction with these changes, operational measures are being introduced to not only improve access to assessments but also ensure that therapies are being delivered sooner:
• The HSE is putting in place a new autism assessment process from February 2026, which should provide faster access to an autism assessment for families than through the Assessment of Need process.
• The implementation of a Single Point of Access in 2026 by the HSE which will ensure that children are referred to the appropriate service that meets their needs as soon as possible.
The provision of an effective and efficient Assessment of Need system and the provision of services to children as early as possible continue to be priorities for the Government.
