Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy White, for taking this Topical Issue.

The reason I raised the matter is that since I was elected last year it has continuously come to my door. I suppose it is an issue that has been raised on several different levels. I am not the first person to raise this topic, not by a long shot.

The Department of Health is under severe budgetary constraints and the Minister, Deputy Reilly, and the Minister of State, Deputy White, are doing an exceptional job with the funding available to them. Free GP care is on the cards for everybody in the coming years, and those under six years are the first recipients of this. It does not take away from the fact that parents of children with Down's syndrome and autism are being discriminated against. Many of them do not know what they are entitled to and this is where the problem lies.

The medical card is means tested. One is not awarded a medical card on the basis of one's medical condition; one is awarded it on the basis of whether one can pay for the care that is needed. With regard to the long-term illness card, this is not the case. There is no income requirement and it is not means-tested. It allows a person to get drugs, medicines and medical appliances directly related to the treatment of his or her illness. In order to qualify for the scheme, a person must be resident in Ireland, have a PPS number, and be suffering from one of the 17 illnesses or disabilities listed.

I welcome the recent addition of ADHD to the list. The recent investigation by the Ombudsman regarding the case of a child with ADHD found that a child with ADHD or autism was discriminated against on the basis of geography, which is a whole other area. The investigation of the office found that in some areas ADHD qualified as a mental illness and the child was included under the long-term illness scheme, whereas in other areas one did not qualify. There was a lot of uncertainty. Obviously, I welcome the fact that this has been addressed. However, the same problem is, perhaps, being replicated for those with Down's syndrome and autism. In most cases a child born with Down's syndrome will need some sort of medical attention for the rest of his or her life. These people grow up and live their lives with Down's syndrome.

A child born with autism has a severe disability that affects the normal development of the brain in areas of social interaction and communication. This, too, is a lifelong disability and there is no cure. Perhaps some day medical research might be able to do something about that, but for now these children and young adults should be entitled to some sort of long-term care scheme.

Perhaps the Minister of State could clarify that up to the age of 16, children with Down's syndrome or autism can avail of the long-term illness scheme on the basis of an intellectual disability. I am not sure whether this comes under mental illness or mental handicap. Perhaps he could clarify that.

Under the mental illness category, a person is only covered up to the age of 16 years. However, a person with Down's syndrome or autism who is being cared for by his or her parents or other next of kin should not be taken off the long-term illness scheme at 16 years of age. Coverage should continue for longer as the process is inconsistent. Down Syndrome Ireland told me recently that most children did qualify, albeit in a roundabout manner. Many such families, however, have to go through an appeals process which can be draining, upsetting and unnecessary. There are approximately 3,500 people in Ireland with Down's syndrome, of whom two thirds are under 16 years. If the majority already qualify for long-term illness cards, there would not be much of a change in the provision of necessary additional funding. As families spend thousands of euro in getting their children assessed every year, this would be a way to repay and help them. Last year the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, announced that his Department would review the manner in which resource hours were distributed. Could such a review also take place in the Department of Health?

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