Ms Barbara O'Connell:

I express my sincere thanks to the committee for the invitation to present at this hearing on our 2015 pre-budget submission.

People with acquired brain injury, which may be caused by road traffic accidents, assaults, falls, strokes, tumours can experience varying levels of disability. Having a brain injury is life-changing and requires massive adjustments on the part of the individual and their families who have to alter their life plans to re-build and accommodate a new way of living. For over a decade, Acquired Brain Injury Ireland, ABI, has been working to support people with acquired brain injury to be rehabilitated to reach their maximum independence and recover their potential using community-based neuro-rehabilitation services. Our organisation grew out of a response to the complete dearth in the availability of such services. We now operate over 100 specific services in almost every county including residential rehabilitation, home and community services, transitional living supports, step-down facilities, day-resource facilities, case management and vocational assessment. We also provide a range of family support services and engage in advocacy work. We enjoy a positive relationship with the HSE as our main funder.

Many people with ABI, once they finish their acute phase of rehabilitation, are faced with two very stark choices. Either they get discharged into the community with no supports or services or they continue to live in acute care wards, community hospitals and nursing homes for years. I know of several cases, including a very recent case of a newly married professional 31 year woman with a brain tumour waiting two and half years in an acute hospital before she got access only to a 12-week specialist rehabilitation programme. She was then offered a choice of returning to that hospital ward or a long-term hospital setting. She now lives in that long-stay hospital setting. She has rehabilitation potential and could be rehabilitated in her own community. These are people who are voiceless and live on the margins of our society.

We have set four key policy areas where we are seeking the Government’s support in our 2015 pre-budget submission. We are asking the committee to recognise people with acquired brain injury as having a set of unique and condition-specific medical and health issues by making commitment to develop a dedicated ABI programme funding for community neuro-rehabilitation in the 2015 budget. We are seeking an annual investment of €25 million. Investing in community neuro-rehabilitation has a range of advantages at the individual, community, family and societal levels. It is an innovative, collaborative and value for money measure which enables all the natural supports in the community to be mobilised. I seek the committee’s support in bringing this issue to the attention of decision-makers. Will the committee commit to investing in community neuro-rehabilitation? In this way, it will start the process of policy recognition for the 13,000 people a year who acquire a brain injury.