Buck passing on Assessment of Needs between Departments must end
Buck passing on Assessment of Needs between Departments must end - The Labour Party
- Parents will now be chasing two parallel pathways for children with additional needs.
- Changes appear to be driven by Govt inability to manage AON services.
- Who will be carrying out the assessments?
- What will happen to children who need a place in September 2026?
Questioning the Taoiseach in the Dáil, Labour’s education spokesperson Eoghan Kenny TD has called out his Government’s failure to address the enormous gaps in the State’s provision of supports for children with additional needs.
Deputy Kenny said:
“Yesterday, we saw the announcement from Minister Norma Foley that Government will replace the existing assessment of need process with a new system. However, the Labour Party has deep concerns about the proposal announced to replace the requirement of a formal diagnosis when determining access to special classes and special schools.
“As a former teacher, I cannot overstate the seriousness of this development. This proposal will have profound implications for schools, for teachers and for the children and families who rely on appropriate, timely and specialist treatment.
“Replacing diagnostic criteria with an educational assessment places an unreasonable and unsafe burden on schools. It seems we will streamline the process of receiving therapies, but leaves an enormous void in how special classes and places will be assigned.
“Minister Norma Foley reiterated yesterday that children will no longer need an Assessment of Need to get a place in a social school or class.
“Instead, Minister Foley says this is “up to education” on how places will be assigned. This level of buck passing is extraordinary, degrading and wrong.
“Minister Foley outlined that some sort of special educational assessment will be established to get a school place for your child, saying, it was her “hope” that the Department of Equation would have a new system in place for the September 2027 academic year.
“Who will be carrying out this new special education assessment? Will it be teachers? Will it be SENOs? The Taoiseach could not give me a straight answer on this under questioning in the Dáil today.
“In his response, the Taoiseach said “assessment teams” would carry this work out. But who are they? Do these teams currently exist? The Taoiseach could not tell me what type of specialists make up these new teams.
“Instead, he opted to deflect from his Government’s own failures when it comes to giving children and their families the supports they need.
“There is no point in suggesting that there will be more psychologists, clinicians, or multidisciplinary teams acquired, as the Government has made the money available to hire in these roles, but the roles are not being filled.
“There was no representative from the Department of Education at yesterday’s announcement, and the Taoiseach could not clarify to me the role of the Minister and the Department of Education in coming to the decision on these proposed changes.
“Teachers themselves will tell you that they are not the ones who should be in the position of determining an appropriate place for a child with additional needs. In reality, the changes announced yesterday will actually leave parents in a worse off position.
“Parents will now be forced to chase two parallel pathways – one to get the therapies their child needs, and one to get the diagnosis and the school place their child needs. It is crazy stuff.
“85% of teachers surveyed yesterday reported moderate to high work-related burnout. This Government’s answer? Make things even more challenging for them.
“Teachers cannot and should not be expected to take on duties that belong to psychologists, clinicians or multidisciplinary teams. This proposed shift undermines the entire integrity of the assessment process. It places schools in an impossible position.
“Crucially, it also risks leaving families unsupported, and children at a genuine risk of not receiving the appropriate provisions they are entitled to. With over 18,000 children waiting an assessment of need, this proposal seems driven not by what is best for children, but by the inability of the health and disability sector to manage the AON backlog.”