Tá fáilte rompu. As Minister of State with responsibility for disability, I am pleased to conclude this Second Stage debate on the Disability (Amendment) Bill 2026. I thank all Deputies for their contributions and their insights, which the Minister, Norma Foley, and I will reflect on as this legislation moves through the next Stage. I also want to take this opportunity to respond to some of the points that have been raised during the debate. As the Minister outlined, the Bill makes very specific and targeted change…

I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Disability Matters pursuant to Standing Orders 103(2)( b ) and 188(1).

I thank the Deputy for his question. I know my office followed up with his office to fully understand where he is coming from on this. I understand he wants an update on the autism assessment and intervention pathways protocol as well as assessment of need, AON, waiting lists. The autism assessment and intervention protocol is being implemented by the HSE and it will be the preferred assessment route for autism. It will provide a standardised assessment process across primary care, mental health and disability serv…

I thank the Deputy and all members of the Oireachtas committee who were involved in the joint Oireachtas committee, JOC, report on this. As the Deputy is aware, a Bill proposing targeted amendment of the Disability Act went before Cabinet yesterday. The disability (amendment) Bill 2026 will introduce changes to make the AON process more efficient, consistent, fair and transparent while maintaining a person's statutory right to an assessment. As the Deputy mentioned, this will come at us quite quickly because so muc…

Yes.

We will.

The autism protocol was launched before the summer. Since then, HSE staff have been trained up in it so the anticipation is that this will be formally rolled out next month. We are waiting for a full update from the HSE in that regard, but I know a lot of work has gone into the training since then and the launch has put this into focus in terms of the specific figure the Deputy is looking for. The HSE reports that at the end of June, 23,282 children were overdue an assessment of need report within the statutory tim…

I thank Deputy Quaide. I am aware the HSE has commissioned a national disability services needs analysis and the publication of this report is a matter for the HSE. The focus on my Department to identify the scale of unmet need is the work that is currently under way on the disability capacity review, which will go to 2040. This is an update to the disability capacity review 2032, a review of disability, social care demand and capacity requirements, which was published in July 2021. It provides estimates of current…

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 p…

The HSE has decided not to publish it. This is its report and it is not for me to publish it. I will provide the Deputy's feedback to the HSE and I ask that he do the same. It is important to note that the HSE report was baseline to help inform current need and capital planning. What my the Minister, Deputy Foley, I and the team in the Department are doing is working to provide a disability capacity review to 2040 that will look further to the future and will have wider scope. That is the report that is most releva…

There has been significant increase in demand for assessment of need, AON, in recent years, reflecting both the increase in population and the number of families exploring all options to access services for their child. Unfortunately, demand has outpaced the capacity of the system to respond, resulting in long waiting lists for children to receive their assessment of need. The Disability Act sets out grounds under which applicants may make a complaint regarding assessment of need, including completion within statut…

We absolutely do care. That is why this week, at Cabinet, the Minister, Norma Foley, and I brought forward legislation in this regard. To be clear, the HSE has not contested applications to the Circuit Court. The figure that was provided to me today in response to the Deputy's question is for the HSE's own legal fees, as I have said. They do not include the legal spend of parties who bring claims against the HSE that have been paid to the HSE. They are discharged by the State Claims Agency. I do not have the figure…

Children are waiting too long, absolutely, and it is not good enough. What has got us here is the increase in demand. That is due partly to changing demographics, and that is a good thing, but it is also due to more awareness within families and among parents exercising their right. Parents - I am sure the Deputy is the same - do not want to know the why; they want to know what we are doing. The only way to fix this is to change things, and that means reform. We are bringing in legislative reform, policy reform and…

The Department and the HSE are working intensively to address delays in the provision of assessments of need to children and their families. There has been significant increase in demand for assessment of need in recent years. Applications have risen from 4,700 in 2020 to over 13,000 in 2025. That reflects both the increase in population and the number of families exploring all options to access services for their child. Unfortunately, demand has outpaced the capacity of our system to respond. While the HSE does no…

The information I have provided the Deputy is the Cavan and Monaghan figures combined. It shows that 634 applications were overdue for completion at the end of June this year. That is the figure up to the end of June. Of these, 543 were overdue for more than three months. That is the data the HSE has provided to me. Applications received in quarter 1 and quarter 2 this year for Cavan and Monaghan combined are 123. Those 634 applications are the data up to the end of June. That includes the 123 applications received…

With all due respect to my predecessors and the Minister's, while the Deputy may have heard what plans were coming down the tracks, what he is hearing from us is what plans are happening, what changes are happening and what reforms we are delivering. This week the Minister, Deputy Foley, and I brought to Cabinet legislation that will make it more efficient, more effective and will provide standardised guidelines for the entire assessment of need process. That will be in this House for debate next week. From a polic…

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue and offering me the opportunity to respond on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Foley. I also thank the Senator for his comments on the staff who work in Tusla in very challenging and often vulnerable circumstances. It is good to put that on the record of the House. It is also important to acknowledge that decisions relating to the acquisition or leasing of properties by Tusla, and indeed all public bodies, require careful consideration. Such decisions must balance …

I thank the Senator for his comments. I appreciate that this is not the news that he or his constituents are seeking. However, as he said, at least it is some level of clarity. Tusla remains committed to providing the infrastructure and accommodation required to support vulnerable children, young people and families. Equally, it has responsibility to ensure that all investment decisions represent the best use of public funds. In this particular case, despite what I was told was extensive engagement, protracted nego…

I join the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, the Minister for justice and many other Ministers in offering a sincere apology to the survivors of Bill Kenneally's abuse. Today, above all else, my thoughts are with the victims and survivors. Many of them are with us in the Gallery today. Thank you for being here. I can only imagine the strength it must take to sit in this Chamber and to hear one of the darkest chapters of your lives spoken about publicly. Your presence matters. It is because of the courage, resilience and det…

I ask the Deputy to relay my condolences to his constituent at this very difficult time. As Minister of State with responsibility for disability, we are doing a huge amount of work to increase residential and indeed respite placements across the country. Just this week, the HSE announced funding for alternative respite to take place through the summer months. The Deputy's particular query about carers is something that I will raise with the Minister for Social Protection, regarding payments and thresholds. The Depu…