The Government fully acknowledges the significant efforts made by families, the HSE, schools and communities in supporting children with disabilities. We remain committed to improving the coordination and delivery of services for children and young people with complex needs, including those with autism.
Children’s disability services operate under the National Programme on Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People (PDS), introduced in 2009. This programme established the national needs-led model and the network of 93 Children’s Disability Network Teams.
This ensured that supports for children with disabilities are based on their individual functional needs rather than diagnosis, and that services are provided equitably regardless of where children live or attend school.
The National Policy on Access to Services for Children and Young People with Disability and Developmental Delay (2019) provides additional national guidance to ensure consistent access to HSE supports.
In education, special schools support children with the most severe or complex special educational needs, where mainstream placement would not be in the child’s best interests. A child may attend a special school where a professional report identifies a special educational need of such complexity that specialist provision should be considered. Admission criteria for special schools are set by the Department of Education and Youth, supported by the National Council for Special Education.
At present, there is no single formal national framework that fully aligns the needs-based Children’s Disability Network Team model with the diagnosis-based access criteria that operate within the education system. However, operational cooperation takes place on a case-by-case basis. For example, where an educational assessment is required as part of a wider HSE Assessment of Need, the HSE may request the assistance of the National Council for Special Education in identifying the educational needs of the child. This supports an integrated understanding of the child’s needs across both sectors.
To strengthen cross-Government coordination in this area, the Cross-Sectoral Group on Disability Issues for Children and Young People was jointly re-established by the Department of Children, Disability and Equality and the Department of Education and Youth in February 2025. This Group provides strategic leadership across the relevant Departments and agencies, supports policy coherence, and enables the sharing of information and the resolution of system-level challenges.
My Department recognises the concerns raised regarding potential misalignment between the two assessment models but the Government is committed to continuing to support children with disabilities both through the Children’s Disability Network Teams and through the education system.
