Over 16,500 children still waiting for disability assessments, HSE figures reveal

Michael Bolton

Over 16,500 children are waiting for Assessment of Need (AON) completion after the first half of this year, figures from the HSE have shown.

A document seen by BreakingNews.ie shows 16,593 children are waiting for AON completion after quarter two of 2025.

There have been 6,613 applications received to date in 2025, and 3,482 new applications in quarter two. That is a 25 per cent increase at the same stage last year.

In Q2 2025, 12 per cent of assessments were completed within the timeframes set out in the Disability Act 2005 and accompanying Regulations.

1,516 AONs were completed in Q2 2025, a 53 per cent increase on the same period in 2024 of 992. The percentage of these AONs that show ‘No Disability’ has increased from 15.8 per cent in 2010 to 26 per cent in 2025.

The HSE have said they could receive as many as 13,000 applications in 2025.

In the first half of 2025, 2,928 AONs have been completed. The HSE said this was down to increased funding to help with the backlog.

Of the 16,593 children waiting for AON completion, 13,998 children are waiting over three months.

This figure also includes 1,054 applications for which an extended time frame was negotiated with the parent on the grounds of there being exceptional circumstances.

The area with the most children waiting is HSE Dublin and Midlands, which covers Dublin South City and West and Dublin South West, Kildare, West Wicklow, Laois, Offaly, Longford and Westmeath.

In this area, 6,143 children are overdue for AON completion, with 5,469 waiting over three months.

In HSE Dublin and North East, there are 5,204 children overdue for AON completion, with 4,386 waiting over three months.

This area covers North Dublin, Louth, Meath, Monaghan and most areas of Cavan.

In HSE Dublin and South East, which provides care to South-East Dublin, Carlow, Kilkenny, South Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford and most areas of Wicklow, there are 2,524 children overdue AON completion.

At HSE South West, providing care and services in Cork and Kerry, there are 1,359 children overdue for completion. 1,005 are waiting over three months.

In HSE West and North West, which includes Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, West Cavan, Mayo, Galway and Roscommon, 916 children are waiting for AON completion.

The HSE revealed 4,976 AONs have been commissioned from private providers/assessors from June 2024 to June 2025.