Tánaiste commits to examining therapist recruitment process

By Cillian Sherlock, PA

The Tánaiste has said he will examine a simplification of recruitment procedures for therapists to carry out needs assessments, following the work of a teenage campaigner.

An assessment of needs (AON) is carried out to identify if a child or young person has a disability, and is designed to identify their health needs as well as service requirements.

Once the HSE receives an application, there is a legal requirement for the AON to be completed within six months.

The waiting list for AONs had been projected to soar to almost 25,000 by the end of the year, with just seven per cent being completed on time.

Tánaiste Simon Harris made a commitment to reexamine recruitment procedures to address that shortfall after praising the campaigning of teenage activist Cara Darmody.

Cara Darmody, 15, from Ardfinnan in Co Tipperary, has long criticised State failures in delivering assessments on time.

She was initially motivated to pursue her advocacy because her two brothers, Neil, 12, and John, eight, have autism and severe/profound intellectual disabilities.

Cara said they were “both failed dramatically by the state” in relation to the assessments and services that they received.

However, she stressed that her advocacy is focused on the the national picture rather than solely on the experiences of her brothers.

She has now raised concerns that the Governments recruitment processes for therapists and psychologists is not viable and will not meet its targets.

Asked about those concerns on Tuesday, Mr Harris said: “I want to again thank her – a young girl, 15 now, able to bring about so much positive change in our country.”

The Tánaiste said she was right to call for using private sector capacity while work was ongoing to build up capacity in the public sector.

He said he had committed to ensuring that there would be more funding for that in the Budget and this was delivered.

Mr Harris has said that the amount allocated to “Cara’s Fund”, which was set up to address AON backlogs, has been doubled from €10 million to €20 million as part of Budget 2026.

Speaking on Tuesday, Mr Harris added: “Her point is also right, though – and I’m teasing this out at the moment with the Cabinet Committee on disability on Thursday – she’s basically saying that the current recruitment process, in her view, is too convoluted.

“She’s basically saying that there are others willing to work for the health service and take up roles, but that the process needs to be simplified.

“I believe she has HSE chief executive Bernard Gloster on this, she had a good meeting with him, but I do intend to probe that further.

“She’s made the point to me, and these are matters for the relevant ministers, but she’s made the point that actually at a local level, there needs to be an identification within each county of more people who are able to work in these areas.

“So I’ll be pursuing this more at the Cabinet committee on disability this week.”

Speaking to the PA news agency, Cara welcomed the comments from Mr Harris and hoped that he would keep his promises on the matter.

She said: “I am delighted about that.”

She said she hoped Mr Harris would keep her updated on the matter and called for a nationwide focus on the recruitment of psychologists and therapists.

“If we don’t find therapists and psychologists it is going to be very hard to solve this problem.”

Budget 2026 provided for 1,717 new special needs assistants, a €20 boost for the monthly Domiciliary Allowance, and the provision of 6,500 private assessments of needs to reduce long waits faced by families.