Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair and I thank the witnesses for appearing before us today and sharing their lived experiences. Acquired disabilities are often overlooked and not discussed enough. We know now that disabilities as a result of accident or illness make up a considerable percentage of people with disabilities, and it is a number that increases with age. I have questions for each of the witnesses, if there is time.

If not, a written response would be great. The first question is for Ms Farrell. She highlighted the incredible barriers she faced and the continuing need to fight for services that most people would consider entirely reasonable and necessary. One striking feature in her ordeal is the ongoing lack of co-ordination and poor communication within the HSE, which results in little or no therapies and many waiting lists. Other witnesses have spoken about similar experiences. Is it time for people such as Mr. Macey to be assigned a single advocate or case worker who can help co-ordinate everything and do the heavy lifting in arranging care, appointments and the like? Second, can she elaborate on the impact of the lack of access to home care support or to personal assistant services and how increased access could improve the life of her son so he can enjoy life like everyone else? Third, she described how there are no appropriate day or resource services for people with neurological disabilities. Could she expand on this and on how access to appropriate day services could improve her son's life?

Ms Bardon described the massive difference between the care she received in hospital, with access to multidisciplinary teams and constant interventions, and absolutely nothing at home. That cliff face of a lack of care is unbelievable. I do not know how it is allowed to happen. Again, it is a situation where there is an absence of joined-up thinking and a person-centred approach in the HSE. It is truly shocking. Can she elaborate on the difference that early interventions and supports at home would have made to her and her recovery? Second, the unwillingness of the Department of Education to permit her to work part time and build up slowly to full-time is also disgraceful. The Department has written to the committee outlining its commitment to the UNCRPD but we see the reality here. Can Ms Bardon elaborate on how it could support her in returning to work? She also highlighted the importance of online support groups as conduits of information and assistance. That is also a common theme among people with disabilities and their families who appear before the committee. They only learn about services and schemes and ways of accessing them through others. She rightly called on the HSE to run these types of services. Will she elaborate on that?

Finally, I have a brief question for Mr. Macey. He mentioned that there is a predicted increase in strokes. Will he elaborate on why this is the case?