Ms Karen Keely:

I have been asked to read out some statements from mothers whose children have been affected by FACS. A mother from Cork said:

I took Epilim when I was pregnant. My five year old son has a diagnosis of childhood autism. My son was non-verbal and he needed speech therapy he

also needed an OT assessment for his sensory needs. None of these services were available to my son and my husband and I had to pay privately. The devastating impact this has had on our family is unthinkable to bear at times.

A mother from Mayo has said:

Since the birth of my two children, never a month goes by without hospital or specialist appointments for my two children, they are 14 and nine, their disabilities range from global development delay, scoliosis, speech and language, dyslexia and physical difficulties. I had to resign in 2016 from employment to become a carer. Last December, my daughter wanted to end her life, this is the effect of sodium valproate.

A mother from Dublin said:

The impact that the lack of correct information on sodium valproate had on my life has been incredible. Personally, the everyday guilt can be all consuming, and has me stuck in a vicious cycle of guilt. Every day the same questions loom... if only I had known? What could I have done differently if anything? Can I fix my girls now? What will their future hold? It’s infuriating, it makes me nauseous with a mixture of emotions.

A mother from Carlow has said:

There is no time for me and while I’ve come to accept this I do still realise it’s not good for me, but I have to keep going. What else can I do? The constant battling for services my child has needed over the years has left me as a mother feeling not good enough, exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally. The isolation and routine of my everyday life has fuelled my depression. I cry often for myself, for my child, with my child and in frustration and anger.

I thank the committee members for hearing me.