Your child is legally entitled to an Assessment of Need. If the HSE has ignored an upheld complaint, the Circuit Court can order it to act.
A solicitor and barrister will handle every step, from reviewing your decision to representing you in court. You will not have to pay our legal fees.
Who can apply to the Circuit Court?
You can apply if you hold one of the following decisions in your favour, and the HSE has not fully implemented it within three months of sending it to you (or within three months of any date it set for a service to commence):
- A Complaints Officer's report upholding your complaint
- or
- A determination of the Disability Appeals Officer
Which applies to you?
- Three months have passed, and the HSE has not implemented everything the decision requires.Provided there is no live appeal to the Disability Appeals Officer, you can apply to the Circuit Court. Upload your decision.
- Less than three months have passed.The HSE still has time to act.
- You have appealed to the Disability Appeals Officer.The decision cannot be enforced while the appeal is under way.
- Your child's assessment is late, and you have not made a complaint.You need to complain to the HSE first.
- Only people born on or after 1 June 2002 are entitled to an Assessment of Need, so enforcement is not available for anyone born before that date.
How the process works
Tell us about your case and upload your decision, and we will review it free of charge. If it can be enforced, we will handle every step, from the first letter to the HSE to the court order. You will not have to pay our legal fees.
Tell us about your case
Complete our online form and upload the Complaints Officer's report or the Disability Appeals Officer's determination, along with any other letters or emails you have from the HSE. We aim to reply within 1 working day and will tell you whether your decision can be enforced.
Reviewing your decision
A solicitor reviews your file.
Preparing and issuing the application
We prepare the court papers: the notice of motion, your affidavit (a sworn written statement of the facts) and an indexed bundle of your correspondence with the HSE. We file them in the Circuit Court and serve them on the HSE.
The court hearing
We represent you at the hearing and ask the court to order the HSE to carry out the decision within a set period, and to pay the costs of the application.
The court order
If the court grants an order, the HSE must carry out the decision within a specified period.
Why choose a solicitor-led service?
An enforceable court order, not another letter
A recommendation tells the HSE what it should do, while a Circuit Court order compels it to act within a set period.
We deal with the HSE on your behalf
We handle all correspondence with the HSE and provide full support and representation until it implements the court order.
No contribution to fees
We will not ask you to pay any contribution to our legal fees.
Who handles your application
Roman Shortall, of Shortall Law, is a Dublin-based solicitor. He specialises in public law and has spent more than a decade advising on disability law matters. He is a former investigative journalist with a track record of exposing State wrongdoing against the most vulnerable in society. He has personal experience navigating the Assessment of Need process as a parent and understands the frustration of a system that fails children with additional needs.
€0 fees
Frequently asked questions
Will I have to pay your legal fees?
No. We will never ask you for a contribution to our legal fees.
How do I know if my case can be enforced?
A Complaints Officer must have upheld your complaint, or the Disability Appeals Officer must have decided in your favour. Three months must have passed without the HSE doing everything the decision requires. If you are unsure, upload what you have, and we will check.
Which document do I need?
The Complaints Officer's report on your complaint, or the Disability Appeals Officer's determination if you appealed.
Will the court order mean my child gets their services?
The court order usually compels the HSE to implement your decision in full. So if the decision says the assessment of need must be completed, or a service provided, by a certain date, the court order will require the HSE to do that.
Will I have to go to court?
No. The court decides these applications on sworn written statements unless it directs otherwise. We represent your family at the hearing.
My child's assessment of need has not been completed in time, but I have not made a complaint. What should I do?
Make a complaint to the HSE first, using the HSE's Assessment of Need complaint form.
I have appealed to the Disability Appeals Officer. Can I still enforce the decision?
Not while the appeal is under way. If the Disability Appeals Officer decides in your favour and the HSE fails to act, you can enforce that decision through the court in the same way.
Can I make the application myself?
Yes. You do not have to instruct a solicitor. The law allows you to apply to the Circuit Court yourself. The application must follow the Circuit Court's rules, which set out the required court paperwork and how to serve it on the HSE.
What law does this rely on?
Section 22 of the Disability Act 2005. It allows you to ask the Circuit Court for an order directing the HSE to carry out a Complaints Officer's recommendation, or a determination of the Disability Appeals Officer, that it has not implemented within three months.
Ready to enforce your decision?
Upload the Complaints Officer's report or the Disability Appeals Officer's determination, and we will advise you whether it can be enforced. We aim to reply within 1 working day.
Upload your decision