Disability campaigner Cara Darmody has called the number of children awaiting assessment for a disability or autism “disgraceful” as she begins her third 50-hour protest outside Leinster House since May 2025.
The 15-year-old, who set up on Kildare Street on Tuesday morning, is calling for an international recruitment plan for psychologists and therapists to address the issue of children waiting far beyond the six-month deadline for an Assessment of Need.
Cara told The Irish Times that children waiting over two years for an assessment was “just disgraceful” and “has to end”.
“The Government are breaking the Assessment of Needs law and they’re not breaking the law in other countries.”
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Under disability legislation introduced in 2005, children are entitled to access the assessment of needs process within six months of applying. The assessment evaluates a child’s condition and determines what services they require.
The latest figures show 21,782 children awaiting assessment beyond the six-month statutory deadline. That figure rose from 15,296 in May 2025.
Cara’s two brothers, Neil (13) and John (9), are both autistic and have inspired her activism after she realised hers was “not the only family going through this”.
Cara’s Fund, established by the Government in honour of Cara, has received €30 million over the last two budgets but that figure is “not enough and we need more” she said.
Cara met the Department of Justice on Tuesday to advocate for international recruitment.
However, she has yet to meet Tánaiste Simon Harris, who established the fund as Taoiseach, for a second time to “advocate to him again for specific and targeted funding to include the recruitment issue”.
She first met Harris in September 2025 at meeting in Government Buildings along with former minister of state for disabilities Hildegarde Naughton. That role is now held by Fine Gael’s Emer Higgins.
Cara’s fund has obtained assessments for roughly 10,000 children in Ireland and was a “large blueprint for success”.
“But imagine how bad things would be if I hadn’t convinced them to create that fund,” she said.
“If I don’t get the meeting with him this week, then I’m going to try to get it for another week. I’m going to keep trying.”
The Co Tipperary native began campaigning at 11-years-old in 2022, completing the Junior Cert maths exam in fifth class with a 97 per cent result. She achieved the same score on the Leaving Cert ordinary level maths exam which she sat a year later.
Cara’s father, Mark Darmody told The Irish Times he does not expect the Government to declare the issue an “emergency” but “[Harris] can certainly act like it’s an emergency”.
“In the world of disability, the second you don’t get therapy, you go backwards.”
