2872. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the amount spent by the State defending challenges from families who have not had an assessment of needs delivered within the statutory timeframe in each of the years for 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57093/26]

As this question refers to the service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.