Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 November 2022
919. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health if proposals have been presented to his ministerial management committee to accelerate the conduct of assessments of need for children with special needs, in the aftermath of a recent court case which deemed that preliminary assessments did not meet the obligations of the existing legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54254/22]
View answerThe March 2022 judgement in the High Court directed that the Preliminary Team Assessment approach, having regard to assessments of need, does not fulfil the requirements of the Disability Act.
Pending the completion of clinical guidance for Assessments of Need, clinicians carrying out assessments have been advised to use their clinical judgement to determine the level and type of assessment required.
The HSE’s National Clinical Programme for People with Disability (NCPPD) has led the process of developing Interim Clinical Guidance to replace the element of the Standard Operating Procedure which was found to be non-compliant with the Disability Act (2005), having regard to the carrying out of Assessments of Need.
This new Interim Clinical Guidance has now been clinically approved and the HSE’s legal advisors have provided initial observations which allows it to proceed from a legal perspective. The HSE is engaging with staff representative bodies on the guidance currently and expect to be able to finalise the Interim Guidance in the near future.
