Over 15,000 children overdue Assessment of Need completion
Michael Bolton
More than 15,000 children were waiting for completion of an Assessment of Need (AON) at the end of the first quarter of 2025, according to internal Health Service Executive documents seen by BreakingNews.ie.
The data shows 15,296 children were overdue at the end of Q1, with just seven per cent of assessments completed within the timeframes set out under the Disability Act 2005 and accompanying regulations.
A total of 1,412 AONs were completed in the first quarter of this year, a 65 per cent increase on the same period in 2024 when 849 were completed. The HSE attributed the increase in part to a €4.5 million allocation in Budget 2025.
Of the current caseload, 1,055 applications were subject to an extended timeframe agreed with parents due to exceptional circumstances.
The HSE Dublin and Midlands region - which includes Dublin South City, Dublin West, Dublin South West, Kildare, West Wicklow, Laois, Offaly, Longford and Westmeath - has the highest number of overdue AONs, with 5,694 children awaiting completion. Of those, 593 cases are marked as having exceptional circumstances.
In the Dublin and North East region (North Dublin, Louth, Meath, Monaghan and most of Cavan), 4,855 children are overdue.
The Dublin and South East region (Dublin South, Wicklow, Carlow, Kilkenny, South Tipperary, Waterford and Wexford) has 2,257 overdue cases, including 327 with exceptional circumstances.
In the South West, covering Cork and Kerry, there are 1,265 children still waiting for an AON.
In the West and North West (Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, West Cavan, Mayo, Galway and Roscommon), 791 children are overdue.
The Mid West region - Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary- has 434 children awaiting assessment.
The HSE warned that if current trends continue, the total number of children waiting for an AON could rise to 24,796 by the end of 2025.
In Q1 2025 alone, 3,131 new applications were received—a 20 per cent increase on the same period in 2024, which saw 2,603 applications.
The proportion of completed AONs that indicate 'No Disability' has also risen, from 15.8 per cent in 2010 to 26 per cent in the first quarter of 2025.
According to the HSE, the rise in AON applications reflects population growth and increased efforts by families to access services for their children.
