Disability Services
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-17
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Emer Higgins (FG), Dublin Mid-West

The information that I have is that the HSE commissioned the report to conduct the national disability service needs analysis in the spring of this year. The HSE stated that the report was intended as a baseline planning exercise rather than a definitive assessment of future disability services requirements. It was designed to identify trends, pressures and areas requiring further examination rather than to provide a conclusive statement of need. The work examined demand, capacity, workforce requirements, service pathways and regional variation with the intention of informing future internal planning, internal policy development and investment decisions. The Deputy is right that it is up to the HSE whether to publish the report and the information I have is that it has decided not to do so due to recognition of the limitations in the underlying data and the significant caveats that accompany the analysis. The findings of the needs analysis will continue to be used internally to inform strategic thinking and contribute to ongoing planning work. However, it is the body of work that my Department is doing that is giving us a more holistic view, a better landscape to operate in and more information.
I thank the Before We Die group, which the Deputy referred to, for its involvement as a stakeholder. The information the HSE has given me is that it received a slide deck of how its contributions were evidenced in the needs analysis.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-17/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-17