Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim mo bhuíochas leis na finnéithe ar fad. The work they are doing is commendable. I should not have to commend them for looking after their children. That is the job of a parent. The job of the State is to deliver rights and services. What we have heard today, and for many years, is that the State has failed and is still failing. I know the Dublin 12 campaign group very well. They are a tremendous group of people who have come together out of frustration, as have other organisations. Most community organisations usually come from frustration with the State for not delivering but in this case it is even more horrendous. The State is basically asking parents who have their hands full to give up more of their time to advocate for their own children and also to try to help other children. The last time we met, at the protest outside the new school in Dublin 12, parents had heard that day that the HSE was going to give them some courses or a few tips to help them along the way while they waited for the service, or even an assessment, to be delivered. I could feel the parents' frustration on that day. They had been waiting and waiting. They presumed the new special school in Crumlin would do the devil and all, as they were promised.

It is great it is there and that we have an educational facility. We will try to fix it, as we try to fix everything. The parents ended up having to come back out on the streets to gather and express their frustration at still having no services and no therapists - in effect, it had gone backwards at that stage. The frustration was palpable on that day and a few times since, when parents contacted me to ask what they can do and where they can go.

Ms Whitmarch said the HSE was referring people to her. That happens across the board and, in some ways, it is an acknowledgement of the HSE's inability to deliver services. It is also an expression of Ms Whitmarch’s expertise and the expertise of the other parents. However, that should not happen because it is wrong. It is a disgrace. While it is testament to the empowerment that has happened, it should not be the case. If we can fix that in any way, we will do it.

Parents contact me on another issue. There was recently a concentration around special school at primary school level and there now seems to be a greater shift towards secondary school. Over the years that I have been a Deputy, many of the parents, who are often quite elderly, had a frustration as to what happens in later years when they are not strong enough or are in ill health. They ask what will happen to their child. They ask what services will be there when the child finishes secondary school at the age of 18, where they will go and where is that progression. Will the HSE have caught up with the parents or with the child, who is an adult at that stage? What services are missing at that stage for late teenagers and those going into early adulthood? The witnesses might be able to help us on that.

I commend the work of the committee and in particular the witnesses and those who are using their time to help others and help their children where the State should be delivering a service.