I want to pay tribute to Cara Darmody's determination on the assessments of need crisis and welcome Cara and her dad, Mark, here today. There are now over 18,000 children whose assessment of need is overdue. The Government is spending many millions of euro fighting in the courts some of these families who are trying to have their right to an assessment of need upheld. At the same time, the Government is imposing recruitment restrictions on the very services in primary care where many of these children should be seen quickly for assessment, followed by timely intervention. This is an absurd way to provide services. What we need is an extension of the right to an assessment of need to also become a right to intervention. The crisis in assessments of need is part of a broader crisis in disability and primary care services and it stems from years of Government neglect, failure to invest and failure to plan. This under-resourcing has created a feedback loop whereby the services are now struggling to retain staff when they do advertise jobs because they have become so difficult to work in, with out-of-control waiting lists. What we need now is proper workforce planning with a clear staffing target per population across these services and a comprehensive recruitment drive.

First, I want to acknowledge Cara Darmody, who is continuing her campaign outside the gates of Leinster House. I know Cara has met with the Minister, Deputy Foley, and they have had good and positive engagement. In terms of assessment of need, the demand for assessments of need has more than doubled since 2020 and there has been a 57% year-on-year increase in the assessments of need that have been completed within the HSE. We are also using every available mechanism to reduce the backlog as quickly as possible. There have been 5,000 assessments procured privately through the waiting list initiative. The Minister, Deputy Foley, is advancing legislative change to reform the assessment of need without weakening the rights of children, establishing a dedicated panel to provide autism diagnostic assessments, removing the requirement for an assessment of need for accessing non-health supports including special classes and school places, and the roll-out of the education therapy service. In the agreement for budget 2026 the significant increase in disability funding of 20% will make a significant difference in ramping up recruitment in terms of improving assessment of need across the system in addition to the reforms the Minister is progressing.