Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)

The budget saw the Government's attempt to cut disability benefit. It also cut the jobseeker's benefit for those aged from 18 to 21 from €188 to €100. We now have the threat to take PA hours away from those with disability and we have had cuts in the one-parent family allowance. These are some of the meanest cuts a government has ever made. However, this must be one of the most vicious attempts to cut from families the lifeline of access to the care and money they need to raise their families.

A number of Deputies have read letters received from parents of children with disabilities and I have one I wish to read into the record as follows.

My son has been diagnosed with Asperger's, Dyspraxia, Sensory Processing Disorder and ADHD. He was refused DCA on lack of medical evidence. I am trying to lodge an appeal but does anyone know what the rate of success of these appeals are? I just feel like I am going around in circles - from trying to get a diagnosis to trying to get him extra help in school. I had to go private for everything. Any advice what to put in an appeal?

We had the same problem nearly 2 years ago with our eldest [son]. He was diagnosed with autism and trying to get anything from the state was an uphill battle. They don't give anything out on the first application. Everything must be appealed and re-reviewed. In our 2nd attempt for the DCA we got a letter of support from his teacher, speech & language therapist, GP and the Brothers of Charity (who diagnosed him initially). All the letters told how bad autism affected him, his sibling and us and how the allowance would benefit us (parents) because of the extra outgoings. The letters told the truth, all be it a darker picture of it.

In today's briefing all the parents made the same point in saying that everything is a battle in trying to get support for their children. They report not being listened to by health professionals when problems first appear at a young age; having to fight for an SNA in school; being refused DCA on first application; having to get costly professional reports for appeals; and having won an appeal then being faced with a review. There is a widespread suspicion among parents that the 50% refusal rate for first applications, of which 50% are overturned on appeal, and the increase in reviews reflect an attitude in the Department of cutting costs and making savings rather than assisting in a sensitive way to ensure that children with special needs and their families are given the support they need.

The term "special needs" may be politically correct.

It can give the impression to many people that we are talking about children who might need a little extra attention to help them keep up in school. The reality is very different when dealing with Asperger's syndrome, autism or attention deficit disorder and often children can suffer from a combination of these illnesses. Organisations representing children and parents, such as Down Syndrome Ireland, Irish Autism Action and the Special Needs Carers Association, are demanding a full review of the whole system. There is a problem with the use of ICD-10 diagnostic codes. While accepting they can be useful for research into statistics, for which there is not even a proper basis in Ireland, their use in determining eligibility for allowances is a major problem.

There is a serious problem if 52% of refusals are overturned on appeal. This causes huge stress and costs for parents. With only 21 days to get professional assessments, reports and advice, people are forced to go to private professionals, with the ensuing costs, because of waiting times for appointments in the public health service. Where public health professionals are involved, there is a considerable cost to the HSE. Another problem with the high level of refusals is that the domiciliary care allowance is a gateway to other benefits such as the carer's allowance, the family home benefits package and others. A refusal of the DCA is a back door to the refusal of these other benefits, which are very much needed by families to support their children in their illnesses.

Time after time, Government Deputies have raised the issue of the problems surrounding the domiciliary care allowance. There must be a proper review of it. Even if the Minister does not want to listen to our motion, and thinks the Government knows better, at least she should call a conference of the parents and ask them what they need and what processes should be put in place. There should be a special unit parents could go to as soon as a child is found out to have an illness, where they can be informed what medical advice they need, what forms they need, what processes are necessary and what timeframe is involved. There should also be a time limit on this; we put in seven weeks to hear and adjudicate on summary and oral appeals. These processes must be put in place to support families.

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