The latest annual report of the Office of the Disability Appeals Officer shows the number of appeals received in 2024 rose by 244 per cent.

In a document seen by Breakingnews.ie, 16,593 children are waiting for AON completion after quarter two of 2025.

A teenage disability campaigner has said it is a myth that there is a shortage of therapists to carry out assessments of need (AONs)

Documents seen by Breakingnews.ie show there are 15,296 children waiting for AON completion at the end of Q1 for 2025.

Cara Darmody, 14, addressed the Oireachtas Disability Committee on Wednesday about the backlog in the assessment of need system.

The total number of applications overdue for completion at the end of March 2025 stood at 15,296 – an 8 per cent rise on the end of 2024.

A total of 3,205 assessment reports were completed last year with 2,356 children (74 per cent of all cases) being deemed to have a learning disability.