Over 23,000 children overdue disability assessments as backlog grows

Michael Bolton

More than 23,000 children are overdue for Assessment of Need (AoN), with 20,017 waiting more than three months.

There were 23,282 children overdue for completion of an AoN at the end of the second quarter of this year, an increase of 6.9 per cent since the end of March.

Of these, 20,017 - or 86 per cent - are waiting over three months.

The aim of an Assessment of Need under the Disability Act is to identify whether a person has a disability, the nature and extent of the disability, any health and education needs arising from that disability, as well as what services are required to meet those needs.

Between April and July, nine per cent of assessments were completed within the timeframes set out in the Disability Act 2005 and accompanying Regulations.

A total of 7,100 new applications were received in the first half of the year, 7 per cent more than the same period last year.

In the first half of the year, 3,043 AONs have been completed, which is an increase of four per cent on the same period last year.

The percentage of these AONs that show ‘no disability’ has increased from 15.8 per cent in 2010 to 33 per cent in the second quarter of 2026.

Dublin and the Midlands had the largest backlog of any HSE Regional Health Area (RHA), with 8,183 children on waiting lists, of which 7,408 were waiting over three months.

This region provides care to Dublin South City and West, Dublin South West, Kildare, West Wicklow, Laois, Offaly, Longford, and Westmeath.

HSE Dublin and North East, covering North Dublin, Louth, Meath, Monaghan, and most of Cavan, had 7,248 children overdue for assessment at the first half of 2026, including 6,271 children waiting for over three months.

HSE Dublin and South East, covering Carlow, Kilkenny, South Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford, and most of Wicklow, had 3,293 children overdue AoN, with 2,667 children waiting for over three months.

Another 2,234 children were on waiting lists at HSE South West, which covers Cork and Kerry.

In HSE West and North West, covering Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, West Cavan, Mayo, Galway and Roscommon, 1,735 children are overdue for assessment, of which 1,439 are waiting for over three months.

At HSE Mid West, covering Clare, Limerick, and North Tipperary, 589 children are overdue Aon, with 517 waiting over three months.