Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 December 2023
74. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when he expects the six new assessment hubs to streamline the assessment of needs process will be established to relieve pressure on service delivery, as set out in the Roadmap to improve Children’s Disability Services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55522/23]
View answerOn the same topic, when does the Minister of State expect to see the six new assessment hubs to streamline the assessment of needs process? When will they be established to relieve the pressure on service delivery as set out in her Roadmap to Improve Children's Disability Services? Will she make a statement on the matter?
The assessment hubs were one of the items the HSE delivered on time for me. I compliment the HSE and thank it for actually addressing it. It is important to say it is a big part of our PDS roadmap. It is not the silver bullet. It will not solve it, but it is putting a structure and shape to it.
At present, a combination of AON administrative and assessment hubs have been established in each CHO, with each CHO developing an approach to the establishment of a hub based on the unique circumstances that apply in the CHO as well as the capacity they have within their existing resources.
The assessment hubs will play a significant part in addressing the AON challenge, however they will not, in isolation, solve the matter. Additional capacity in the system by way of successful recruitment and retention is the key to ensuring that CDNTs have sufficient capacity for AONs and therapy interventions. This will allow families access to both and it is an issue placed extremely high on the HSE's agenda. In this regard, disability services have recently been exempted from the HSE recruitment embargo.
In addition, private providers are also currently being contracted by the HSE and lead agencies in order to increase capacity for assessments. The Department and the HSE both acknowledge that the provision of assessments is a particular challenge due to their complexity and length but significant work is ongoing.
The hubs are currently in place in all of the CHOs. Some have colocated on one particular site and others do it online, but at the end of the day they are all working and they are all recruiting the skill set that is required to have a proper pathway for the children.
I was glad to see the Minister of State launched the roadmap to improve children's disability services for 2023 to 2026 in October. I believe that the six assessment hubs to streamline the assessment of needs is urgent. Is the Minister of State going to expand on these hubs? Where does she intend to provide more hubs? That is important. There are six new assessment hubs. Will the Minister of State tell me what exactly the hub will mean today for the parents of children I speak to in Carlow-Kilkenny? That is so important. I understand the Minister of State's commitment, but she knows herself that timing is of the essence for parents waiting for an assessment. It is absolutely crucial that we get this right.
Deputy Murnane O'Connor asked specifically about Carlow, hence I brought in the answer. An AON administrative hub providing a centralised location application e-mail database, while spreading AONs across CHOs and the lead operations, is in place in Larkin House, Larkin's Cross, Barntown, Wexford. There are four assessment officers, AOs, of which three positions have been filled, four liaison officers, LOs, of which two have been temporarily assigned to an AO role to address the needs in Waterford, New Ross and Wexford and there is a backlog in filling the grade 3 and grade 2 positions. Health and well-being staff have been temporarily assigned to support the processing of the preliminary team assessments, PTAs, and the outsourcing of the service. In addition, 1.1 administrative staff remain to be recruited. The current focus is on prioritising and outsourcing of the PTAs and the backlog due to the High Court judgment. It is very clear the assessment hubs are up and running. That is an example of Deputy Murnane O'Connor's CHO.
I welcome that. I urge the Minister of State to consider further expansion of the system. I know how committed she is to the issue. I work with parents and I am aware of their concerns. The number of applications for assessment of needs under the Disability Act 2005 has risen steadily since the implementation of the system in June 2007. Some 7,612 applications for assessments of need were received in the most recent four quarters. The third quarter of 2022 and the second quarter of 2023 show the highest number of applications received in any 12-month period since Part 2 of the Act was commenced in June 2007. While I know the Minister of State is working on this and she is committed to it, it is important that we recruit and get as many staff as we can to work with the families and the children to get them assessed as soon as possible. I thank the Minister of State for all her help and support on this over the year.
The responsibility does not all lie with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth or with the HSE, there is responsibility here as well within the Department of Education. To be quite honest, when we look at the increase since the inception of the Act in its entirety, some part of it may be because the EPSEN Act itself has not been fully enacted. It may be due to the fact that we do not have enough NEPS psychologists. I acknowledge that the Department of Education has removed the barrier for needing an assessment to access education, but it does not mean it removes the barrier to accessing a special class. It also means a person cannot access social protection rights without having an assessment. Health and assessment are needs based so we respond to the needs. The next phase of the assessment hubs is ensuring we have those responsible for education and disability and CAMHS around the table so that children are given a proper and clear pathway on the right team for their interventions.
