Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for giving me the opportunity to raise this matter. I am speaking on behalf of the Maher family in south Kilkenny. Their son has autism and for the duration of his life the family has fought for any services they have received for him, be they educational or health. The family has always had to fight long and hard battles to get anything for him. I commend them. I have much respect and admiration for them because they have had a very hard battle.

Their son is now 16 years old and when I say the family is at a crisis point I do not do so lightly. This is not something I would have considered raising as a Topical Issue if it were not important to do so. Their son is no longer in school. When this matter came to a head the family was promised 36 hours of home support by the HSE. A behavioural therapist visited their home and it was a very positive intervention. They were very happy with it and felt it would result in many improvements for their son, with a positive knock-on effect on the rest of the family. However, without explanation or consultation, the hours were cut to ten and the behavioural therapist was not seen again in the home. The hours were increased to 15 two weeks ago, but that is still less than half the number the family were promised. The boy is unable to be in school which is detrimental not only from an educational point of view but also from a social point of view and all that is associated with being a teenager in school. He has already been denied that, so it is rather disgraceful that it is proposed to deny him the home support hours.

I have the family's permission to raise this matter. The boy's father is a paramedic and he has had to take indefinite leave from his job to help his wife in the home each day. This will have a negative impact on the family from a financial perspective. They will end up needing a great deal more support down the line if no intervention is made now. They need the 36 hours of home support. It is not a huge amount to seek, given everything else they have gone through. The hours were agreed and decided, so obviously they were considered necessary. The family also needs the behavioural therapist to come to the home to carry out his work, as agreed.

I ask the Minister to intervene and ensure the family gets this support. I also ask him to meet with the family to hear directly from them about their experiences. They represent not only themselves but many families in Carlow-Kilkenny who have had difficulties. There appears to be a difficulty with services for people with autism in the constituency. The family will be delighted to travel to Dublin to meet the Minister of State. I ask him to facilitate that visit and also to intervene and ensure they get the 36 hours of home support and the behavioural therapist visits they badly need for their son.

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