Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)

I am grateful to the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this important matter.

Catherine was a perfect child until she got encephalitis at the age of three. Her balance went and she developed a juvenile form of multiple sclerosis. She is now 22 years old and is in need of full-time care and assistance for all the tasks of everyday life. She suffers from epilepsy and kidney problems, with urinary incontinence. She has tunnel vision and lacks peripheral vision. She needs to use a wheelchair to get out and about.

Catherine attends the training centre in Ballina, County Mayo, two days per week. She has a personal assistant with her in the centre who protects her from falls and looks after her every personal need. Without the presence of this personal assistant on those two days, she would not be safe and would be a danger to herself. She would like to spend more than two days at the centre, but this is not possible because of a lack of funding to hire a personal assistant for the other three days. She must stay a home because of this.

I appeal for funding for the hiring of her personal assistant for the other three weekdays as she is restless and ill at ease sitting at home. Like everyone else, she wants to work five days of the week. She is demoralised when she cannot work as she misses the social contact with her fellow workers. She is not happy because she must stay at home. She must do so only because money is not available to hire her personal assistant for the other three days a week and, unlike her work colleagues, she cannot work those days. She was also refused respite care and her mother was refused a carer's allowance.

I appeal to the Minister of State to act to provide the necessary funding for the hiring of Catherine's personal assistant to enable her to work for five days a week. I cannot understand how that cannot be done — in the interests of equality it should be done. Disability is something with which this girl must live for the rest of her life. She would have a better chance of a normal life and an existence in which she could contribute even more to society like everyone else if she were in a position to work five days a week. It is not fair that she cannot do so and I hope the Minister of State will give her that chance.

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