Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome all the witnesses here today. I wish to say at the outset that very often people can go through very traumatic experiences and come out the other side and are happy that they are out the other side. Obviously, the witnesses wish to highlight the deficiencies in the services not only in the context of the impact on them but also the impact on other families and individuals who tragically will have to experience this at some stage in the future, as is inevitable. It is a noble aspiration to try to ensure that their experiences can highlight the deficiencies.

Obviously, Conor is at the centre of this, in terms of the presentation. However, it impacts not only him. We can get caught up in the impact on the individual and forget about the impact on the broader family, leaking out into the community as well. We need to focus on the supports that are required not only for the individual but also to ensure the broader community can also support that individual and that family?

I am interested in the whole area of education. A school or college might not have any expertise in the area and on what is required when a person has an acquired brain injury and they are on the pathway to recovery. There are various stages. I presume the reaction to the trauma initially is "Will my son live? Will my husband live? Will my wife live?" and then to ask how much damage will be done. Then one sees the pathway of recovery. It can be a very difficult, long and arduous journey. At some stage, for a young person, education obviously will play a very central role in his or her recovery and adaptation. The witnesses say there are very little or no supports in the schools. Are they saying some teachers should be educated in this area? I assume a clinical specialist is needed, as opposed to a teacher, to assist a person on their educational journey after an acquired brain injury. There was a reference in the speech to the need for an educational aspect in this for teachers; a need for education for teachers and educators on ABI as part of their training. Is this being suggested for every teacher or just some individual teachers? Is it really a clinical issue that needs a clinician with a particular competency as opposed to an actual teacher?

On the broader area, the family have had a difficult journey. It has probably challenged the family, brought it together, perhaps tore it apart. I do not want them to discuss that here. However, obviously it can be hugely traumatic not only in the physical context but in the emotional and social context of a family, when this hits them. What other areas does the family think the State and the health services need to address to help the family unit and address the pressure under which people are when dealing with this? Where are the real pinch points? Where are the State or the health services not stepping up to the mark? I know there are deficiencies in lots of areas and the family have made that clear in their presentation. What are the really key areas that keep them together, keep them going, keep them supported? Where are the real deficiencies?