Budget increase needed to fix ‘broken’ disability services for children, says committee

Green Party TD Patrick Costello said, as a former Tusla child protection officer, he saw the 'effect of the barriers to services faced by those in need'. Picture: Collins Photos

A significant budget increase is required to remedy decades-long issues in the "broken system" that is disability services for children.

That is according to the Oireachtas children’s committee, which, as part of 39 recommendations, called for a significant increase to the Budget 2023 allocation to improve staffing and the timeliness of assessments of need (AONs).

In the run-up to the recommendations, the committee heard from stakeholders including parents who described a complete lack of services and staff which is resulting in years-long waiting lists, with some resorting to paying for private assessments to avoid huge impacts on children’s mobility, speech, and independence.

Currently, an assessment report should be made within six months from the time an application is received.

There are two lists, one of which caters to those aged up to five; however, children often “age out” of this list before receiving an assessment and must begin the wait for assessments and services again on the other list.

At the end of September last year, 4,685 children were overdue an assessment, in addition to roughly 10,000 who received an assessment found to be in breach of the Disability Act 2005. Many of these assessments will have to be redone, the committee said.

The committee said the standard operating procedure moved many children from one waiting list which has a statutory time frame to another which does not and was found to be in breach of the act.

The committee recommended the immediate cessation of the standard operating procedure which was introduced by the HSE in 2020 in an effort to improve the AON process. 

During one committee meeting, Psychological Society of Ireland president Mark Smyth said: “The primary goal of the new standard operating procedure would appear to be solely to enable the HSE to meet its statutory obligations under the Disability Act.” 

Green Party TD Patrick Costello said, as a former Tusla child protection officer, he saw the “effect of the barriers to services faced by those in need.” 

We now have a situation in this State where many families are forced to seek private assessments in lieu of HSE ones due to delays of up to two years, this simply is not good enough. 

"Even with the assessment finished, actually getting therapeutic services is another long wait if they ever come,” he said. 

Mr Costello said the Government must now act and set out a timetable for implementing the recommendations and invest resources into families "they have to date ignored".

“We have seen, since its introduction in 2005, the Disability Act repeatedly broken by the department due to its lethargic implementation of services and policies. A society should be judged on how they treat their most vulnerable. In the case of the Irish State, we would receive a very low grade indeed. 

"Today’s report, I hope, will be seen in future as the first major step in addressing these failings,” he said.

The HSE did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publishing.