Children with disabilities in Cork and Kerry wait up to four months for assessment 

Anne Rabbitte, Minister of State at the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, pledged funding for private assessment.

Children with disabilities in Cork and Kerry are waiting up to four months before assessment of their need for services begins, the HSE has said.

Some 705 children are waiting longer than the target time to have their assessment completed in this region alone.

However, new funding is now available for private assessments. The change follows a Labour Party motion in May calling for urgent financial supports.

In response, Minister of State with Special Responsibility for Disabilities Anne Rabbitte pledged funding for private assessment if six regional assessment hubs were not in action by August.

A spokeswoman for Cork/Kerry Community Healthcare said up to the end of August “there was a total of 705 applications overdue for completion in Cork and Kerry.” 

She said: “Applications are on a waiting list for approximately 3-4 months before the Assessment Officer commences the assessment process.”

 Under legislation, an officer must arrange a referral within three months of receiving an application, with a further three months for a report.

Cork/Kerry disability service submitted a business case for part of an €11m intervention.

“A service level agreement is now in place with a number of service providers, which makes the specific financial allocation information commercially sensitive,” a spokeswoman said.

This is being run through an administrative hub in place “for a number of years” across Cork city and Killarney.

Nationally, the HSE said there are now six hubs. Another two are in development including for Limerick, Clare, and North Tipperary where a diagnostic hub was established.

“Approximately €11m has been allocated to address waiting lists for clinical assessments identified through the Assessment of Need process,” a spokeswoman said.

This “additional funding” can also cover appointments procured from the private sector.

Ms Rabbitte’s office said she “understands and shares the frustration of parents whose children are waitlisted for Assessment of Need (AON) and therapy services". She is working with the HSE to monitor the hubs.

“The Minister is also keeping the option of financial measures for parents to remediate the costs of private assessment under review,” her spokeswoman said.

She said “significant funding” was found in addition to over 600 funded posts in recent years.

“While acknowledging the statutory entitlement that families have in obtaining the AON, the Minister feels it is important to let families know that they do not need an AON to access health and social care services,” the spokeswoman added.

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Labour spokeswoman on health Duncan Smith welcomed the funding.

“We in Labour started the clock ticking on the minister this summer,” he said.

“We are willing to pause that clock to allow for investment and therapies to reach families, but it cannot be another false dawn for families and those seeking therapy.” 

He added: “What matters most now is not the political plaudits but ensuring that families and children are heard, and engaged with effectively, as is their right."

Labour spokesperson on Children and Disability Sean Sherlock said: "The exact details for families in the Cork/Kerry area needs to be fleshed out properly with effective communication to families about when exactly therapies will take place. Families can no longer be the collateral for bureaucratic brinkmanship.” 

He highlighted “significant gaps” in therapist numbers, and called for the regularisation of pay scales.