Teenager to begin 50 hour protest outside Leinster House over assessments of needs wait times
TEENAGE CAMPAIGNER CARA Darmody will begin a 50-hour protest outside Dáil Éireann today over the Government's failure to deliver assessments of needs (AON) on time.
The 14-year old, who has two brothers with severe autism, has
spearheaded a campaign
to compel the Government to improve access to services for people with disabilities.
Darmody said the main focus of her campaign is on the fact that the Government is breaking the law in relation to the delivery of assessments of needs.
'Assessments of needs' are formal procedures set out under the Disability Act 2005 that are intended to identify a child's health and educational needs.
The HSE is legally obliged to carry out a full assessment within six months of receiving an application. This should then be followed up with any additional services required.
An assessment is not required to access services, however, in practice it is a key element in getting a child into the system.
A recent response to a parliamentary question revealed that just 7% of assessments were completed within the six-month timeframe, while over 15,000 children are currently overdue an assessment.
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'By not assessing autistic children within 6 months in 93% of cases means that the Disability Act law is being systematically broken, and this has been going on for almost a decade.
'It is not acceptable in my book – how can the Cabinet expect teenagers like me to obey the laws of our land, when they are the ones that break a law openly and with impunity,' Darmody said in a statement ahead of today's protest.
Darmody's protest today comes as the Dáil is set to hear hours of statements on the issue alongside a cross-party Opposition motion on the issue following a successful campaign from the teenager.
The motion comes after Opposition party leaders met with Darmody in recent weeks. She also spoke to Children's Minister Norma Foley in recent days.
'The initial motivation for my advocacy was because I have two brothers, Neil (12) and John (8), who have autism and severe/profound intellectual disabilities.
'They were both failed dramatically by the State in relation to the assessments and services that they received. There is nothing in my advocacy for them, I now do it for the national picture,' Darmody said ahead of today's protest.
The teenager is calling for the Government to declare a national emergency and stop breaking the law in relation to assessments of needs.
She is also asking for the creation of a task force to examine and remove barriers that exist in relation to employment in the sector, and additional funding for 'Cara's Fund'.
'Cara's Fund' was so named by then Taoiseach Simon Harris in October 2024 when he allocated an additional €10m towards dealing with the backlog of assessments.
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