The Irish High Court has ordered the Health Service Executive (HSE) to carry out a special needs assessment of three children suspected to have autism within six weeks.
The proceedings involved two test cases, the first brought by a mother who sought an assessment of her daughter in May 2016, however was told in August 2017 that the delay was 18 months. The second case concerned a mother of two children who requested an assessment of her son in July 2016 and her daughter in March 2017 – neither of which had yet been completed. Under the Disability Act 2005, the HSE must commence a special needs assessment within three months of receiving an application, and it must be completed with three months of commencement.
The Act also provided a mechanism for dealing with complaints over failure to complete assessments within the timelines and for enforcement by the Circuit Court of recommendations of complaints officers. Complaints were lodged using this process, however due to significant delays in dealing with these complaints, judicial review proceedings were initiated.
The HSE argued that the correct procedure to deal with complaints was through the Circuit Court. It also explained that a new assessment procedure that had been introduced the previous April and that there had been an increase in the number of applications for assessments which had put a strain on the resources available. However, it did not rely on a resources defence and claimed that services were being granted to children in the interim.
The Court refused to declare the complaints process an inadequate remedy, however it accepted that given the unreasonable delays in dealing with the complaints and assessments the applicants were entitled to withdraw from the statutory complaints process and engage in judicial review. This was particularly in light of the need for early intervention with autism.
The High Court therefore ordered that the HSE had six weeks in which to complete an assessment for the children of the applicants.
Approximately 20 further cases with delays up to two years have been awaiting this decision.
Click here for further analysis from the Irish Times.