Judge asks if cases seeking assessment of special needs children are best use of limited resources

A High Court judge has asked if actions aimed at compelling the HSE to assess the requirements of special needs children within six weeks is the “best use of very limited resources”.

The comments were made by Mr Justice Charles Meenan, the High Court judge in charge of the Judicial Review list, who noted that what happens in most of these cases is that they are settled on consent shortly after they first come before the courts.

Dozens of other similar type applications, aimed at compelling the HSE to carry out the assessments within the required statutory period, have come before the courts in recent years.

The judge noted that legal submissions made in support of several such actions, that came before him this week, stated that typically assessment of needs cases are resolved on consent after leave has been granted by the court.

The judge said that he wished to phrase his remarks about such cases “as neutrally as possible”, but wondered that in a time of “very limited resources” are such cases, given the way they are generally resolved, “the best use of resources.”

The judge made his comments when granting permission to three separate applicants to bring challenges on behalf of children with special needs over failures to carry out such assessments, against the HSE.

In the judicial review proceedings, the applicants seek an order from the court compelling the HSE to complete an assessment of needs of a child, with certain special needs requirements, within six weeks.

The various applicants, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, also seek declarations that the HSE has failed to comply with its statutory obligations under the 2005 Disability Act.

In many of the cases that have come before the courts, the parents and guardians claim that the HSE has failed to complete assessments, or reviews of assessments, of their children’s needs for significant periods of time.

In many cases it is claimed that the failure to complete such assessments or reviews results in special needs children being deprived of services they require including speech and language therapy, psychological services and educational services.

It is also claimed that the lack of services adversely effects both the children’s lives and the lives of their families.

The judge, after granting the various applications leave to bring their actions on an ex-parte basis, made all of the cases in question returnable to date in December.