Tom Clonan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have never sat in this chair before. I thank the witnesses for coming before the committee. As an aside, I have been married 25 years this Christmas and for the past 22 years, we have never been able to go out together without our son. In 22 years, we have never had one day's respite. It is not that we look for it but it relates to the question the witness has posed about what will happen when we get older. Who will look after our children when we are older? I spoke to the HSE disability service manager in the CHO in which I live and the usual answer was that they did not know. However, the social worker asked if my son had siblings. When I replied that he had, I was asked if he has a sister and told not to worry because she would look after him. That was in 2019. Therefore, we are all on the same page. We all have the same aspirations and ambitions.