Judge orders HSE to appear in court after 'dramatic' rise in Assessment of Need cases

The applicants typically seek declarations that the HSE has failed to complete the assessment of the children's needs within a reasonable period of time

The judge said that he hopes that the issue can be addressed when the lawyers for the HSE and the applicants come before him next month. File picture

A senior High Court judge has said that the recent "dramatic" increase in the number of actions against the HSE over the assessment of children with special needs coming before the court needs to be addressed.

Mr Justice Charles Meenan said while he is not making any judgment as to who is responsible for what is clearly a problematic situation, he directed that the HSE appear before the court in December to address this issue.