Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

I refer to St. Mary's, Drumcar, Dunleer, County Louth, where the authorities told parents a month ago that there would be no further respite care for the families, who are all now up in arms. One of the families who contacted me about the issue have a youngster with attention deficit disorder and this development is a serious blow to them.

A young man in my constituency, with whom I have been dealing for a number of years, has an intellectual disability, is hard of hearing and has attended the school for the deaf in Cabra. Services of one sort or another were available to him until he reached 21 years of age. However, he is now 24 and has had no services for the past three years. He has ended up in St. Ita's in Portrane where he remains even though it is totally unsuitable. There has been no improvement in this respect even though we have been fighting for a decent service for him. The resources are seriously flawed in regard to providing adequate and appropriate services for people in need.

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