329. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is aware of the continuing difficulties faced by children and families in South Tipperary in accessing timely disability assessments and therapeutic supports; the current waiting times for assessment of need applications and for intervention services in the South Tipperary area; the number of vacant posts across Children's Disability Network Teams serving South Tipperary; and the measures her Department is taking to ensure that children receive assessments and early intervention supports within the statutory timeframes [66253/26]

HSE Children’s Disability Services has undergone significant reform and restructuring over the past few years. The core focus of this change is to ensure that children and their families, with complex interdisciplinary needs, will receive an appropriate and accessible family centred service.

Progress is being made, demonstrated by almost 46,000 children with complex needs who were receiving supports and services from Children’s Disability Network Teams at the end of August 2026.

The HSE has also made real progress in reducing waiting lists whilst recognising that there is more to do. In 2025, waiting lists were reduced by 28%. In the National Service Plan for 2026, the HSE has committed to a further 25% reduction.

Unfortunately, children on Children's Disability Network Team registers, both on waiting lists and on open caseloads, are likely to be waiting for some aspect of their intervention.

As advised the HSE, there are 167 children on the Tipperary South CDNT waiting list, of whom 72 children are on the waiting list over 12 months. In total 887 children are on the open case load.

There are currently 6.5 WTE vacant in the Tipperary South CDNTs. The National Service Plan (NSP) 2026 allocated 6 WTE to Tipperary South CDNTs and these are going through the recruitment process.

As with other areas, Disability Services within Integrated Health Area Carlow, Kilkenny, Tipperary South are continuing to experience significant recruitment challenges. The HSE is operating in a competitive market and there are significant shortages of qualified healthcare professionals nationally and internationally.

The Government has provided funding for additional posts to enhance the capacity of Children’s Disability Network Teams and shorten waiting times in recent years, with further investment in Budget 2026 to fund 150 posts for Children’s Disability Network Teams.

The HSE report a 28% increase in staffing levels nationwide from October 2023 to October 2025. This equates to an additional 448 Whole-Time Equivalents including an additional 321 Health and Social Care Professionals.

To continue this progress, the HSE is driving intensive domestic and international recruitment efforts.

A dedicated Disability Workforce Strategy will be developed by the HSE in 2026, to meet growing service demands and address recruitment and retention challenges.

To support reforms, the HSE is also in the process of recruiting the first-ever dedicated National Director for Disability as well as six new Regional Disability Leads in the health regions to advance disability services.

The Department and the HSE are working intensively to address delays in the provision of Assessments of Need to children and their families.

There has been significant increase in demand for Assessment of Need in recent years. Applications for have risen from 4,700 in 2020 to over 13,000 in 2025, reflecting both the increase in population and the number of families exploring all options to access services for their child.

While the HSE does not provide AON data by county, data is provided by Regional Health Area and Local Health Office (LHO) area. Tipperary is covered by 2 Local Health Offices. The most recent available data for Q2 2026 shows that in Tipperary South Riding 93 applications were overdue for completion at the end of June. Of these, 63 applications were overdue for more than 3 months.

HSE Tipperary South further advise that there is currently no waiting time for the processing of applications under AoN as they are processed within two weeks of receipt of same. HSE Tipperary South are currently commissioning assessments for applicants under Stage 2 who have applied from May 2025.

Significant legislative and operational work continues to improve the AON process and reduce waiting times. This includes continuation of the Targeted Waitlist Initiative, improved training and guidelines for Assessment Officers and targeted amendment of the Disability (Amendment) Bill to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the AON process.