'Utterly outrageous' that 17,000 children with disabilities waiting for assessment of need

Families are now waiting more than two years on average for the assessment process. File picture

Ahead of a new school year, almost 17,000 children are now overdue an assessment of need, hundreds more than at the same point last year.

New figures show 16,593 children were classed by the HSE as "overdue" for an assessment of need (AON) at the end of June.