THE MOTHER OF a child with autism who was told she must wait six years to access HSE services has said “it is hard to believe” there are such significant delays in a country as wealthy as Ireland.

The High Court today granted her permission to challenge the proposed time frame for access to what she says are “key” intervention services, without which “significant” harm to the boy’s health and educational prospects will be caused.

Through his mother, the now five-year-old boy is seeking a judicial review challenging the “extraordinary gap” between the application for an assessment of his needs on 13 December 2022 and the proposed commencement date of services in May 2028.

In her affidavit, the mother of the boy said that in her son’s earliest years she became concerned he was “missing his developmental milestones and that he was displaying delayed speech and language, and would have frequent tantrums”.

The mother of the child claims that the assessment application in December 2022 should have commenced, according to the HSE’s own timelines, on February 13, 2023 and have been completed on 13 May 2023.

She submits that she received the assessment report “17 months outside the statutory timeline” on October 16, 2024.

“The report confirmed my suspicion that [her child] met the criteria for autism spectrum disorder,” she claims.

The woman claims that the report confirms that the boy exhibits “significant delays in achieving developmental milestones across various domains”, such as motor skills, language, cognitive abilities and social-emotional development.

It is submitted by the woman that the delays are “more extensive than what would be expected in a child with autism”.

She says she was “taken aback” that there was a waiting time of six years between applying for an assessment and the proposed receipt of HSE services in 2028.

“It is common knowledge that early intervention is key for any child with autism and in my opinion, a delay of six years would cause significant harm for his health and educational prospects,” she submits.

She also claims that a proposed commencement date of May 2028 is “not binding” and that this date can be deferred.

“I am personally aware of other families that have been waiting for years for services only to be told that the commencement date cannot be met… how can this happen in a wealthy country like Ireland is hard to believe,” she says.

At the High Court today, Feichín McDonagh SC, appearing with Brendan Hennessy BL, instructed by KM Solicitors, for the boy and his mother, said the six-year gap between applying and receiving services was “extraordinary”.

McDonagh successfully applied for permission for a judicial review hearing seeking to quash the service statement.

Justice Mary Rose Gearty granted permission to proceed with the challenge to the service statement, reserved costs in the matter and adjourned the case to April.