Labour looking to “shame” government in Europe over assessment of needs system

Labour MEP Aodhán Ó Ríordáin is putting a European spotlight on Ireland’s dysfunctional assessment of needs system.

Ó Ríordáin will be raising the issue in the European Parliament on Wednesday (May 6) and will be presenting a petition on the issue.

The Labour MEP noted that under the Disability Act 2005, every child in Ireland is entitled to an assessment of needs within six months of application, but the system is not working.

Most recent figures show that more than 16,000 children are waiting, with an average wait time of nearly 25 months, while in some extreme cases, families have been told to wait up to six years.

Ó Ríordáin will be joined by Clontarf councillor Ali Field, along with Labour TD and education spokesperson Eoghan Kenny, in an attempt to put a human face on the issue.

The Labour grouping will argue that the Irish government are breaching the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, and will call for the EU to apply pressure on Ireland to resolve the issue.

They say that the EU needs to intervene and provide technical assistance and funding to Ireland’s system, and that their progress should be monitored.

Councillor Field said “our state has failed my son James, who has severe autism and is totally nonverbal on so many levels.”

She explained, “James was deprived of essential early intervention help while he was left waiting on a list for almost two years for an Assessment of Needs and diagnosis.”

Field said she has been “banging the drum” on the issue for years, as have many parents and advocates right across Dublin, but yet, “the government are not listening.”

“They do not seem to realise that they have a duty of care to all children including the children with the highest support needs,” Field said.

“I am hoping that the European Petition Committee will advise our government and make our government act responsibly in ensuring no child is left behind. That no child is left waiting years for an assessment of needs and an appropriate school place,” she said.

Petitioner Vivienne Sullivan from Kildare said, “my son Isaac was on the AON list from 2017 to 2025. His file was lost twice, and on another occasion, he was recorded as having been seen when he had not.”

“We rang weekly and, in the end, daily. Often the phone was unanswered. He finally had an assessment in March 2025, but he still has no access to services. Isaac is 14 now and has been waiting since he was 5. It’s not acceptable.”

Parent, campaigner and spokesperson for Families Unite for Services and Support (FUSS) Rebecca O’Riordan, said “the failure of the legislation to deliver what it set out to achieve has shaped the lives of thousands of children who are waiting in limbo for supports they so urgently need.”

“The government spent over €27,000 dragging our then 2-year-old daughter into court, only for them not to contest her case. She is 7 now and still waiting. Like so many children up and down the country we are still waiting for supports that may never come. We are living in a time of unprecedented financial surplus; state-sanctioned neglect is a government policy.”

Ó Ríordáin stated, “none of us raise our children to be second-class citizens, but too many parents feel they have to fight for everything.”

“The government are failing these children, and it’s not good enough,” he said.

“If the government won’t act, I want the European Parliament and the European institutions to shame Ireland into action. I believe this is a breach of the fundamental rights of children under the European Charter,” he said.

Labour TD and education spokesperson Eoghan Kenny said “the government is quite simply breaking the law, there is no ambiguity in the legislation.”

“Once the HSE receives an application for an assessment of needs it must complete it within 6 months. The HSE themselves are warning the figure waiting could hit 25,000 by the end of the year — this is outright failure.”

“Bringing this crisis to the European Parliament is another step in highlighting the scale of the problem and ultimately trying to solve the problem and vindicate the rights of these children,” the Cork TD explained.