Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to talk to the Minister about Jacob Dooley. Jacob is the middle child of Edel and Anton Dooley and he has been diagnosed with severe autism. The Dooleys are, in their own words, "a family in crisis." For months they have been appealing to Ministers for help but they have been ignored. I have written and spoken directly to the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, about this family and their desperate search for respite care for their son.

At a recent case conference where their case was discussed, the Dooleys predicament was laid out in detail. Jacob is eight years of age and engaged in aggressive behaviours toward his parents and siblings causing injury. As Jacob gets older and stronger, he poses a greater risk to his family, other students and staff in Foxfield school, and to the staff working within the family home. Jacob is displaying significant behaviours that challenge, such as biting and scratching. Edel herself has been bitten and scratched on a regular basis and Jacob recently tried to strangle his mother. Previous applications to St. Michael's House for respite, host family and link have all been submitted but to date none of these have been put in place.

This is one case of dozens I have been dealing with. The Minister will be keenly aware that there is not a Deputy in this House who does not receive emails and calls on a daily basis from desperate parents and family members who are seeking nothing more than respite. Anecdotal evidence may not count for much and given the responses to the desperate pleas from the Dooley family, and no doubt the Minister's unwillingness to comment on individual cases, I will look at the facts. Figures released to me by the HSE show that while the number in need of respite is going up, the allocation of respite hours is decreasing. In the first quarter of last year, 44,141 overnight hours were provided. This year the figure had fallen to 40,597. There is no urban-rural divide on this. All counties in this State are being treated equally badly. For example, Dublin North, where Jacob lives, is down 503 hours. If we look at Donegal, there has been a loss of 559 hours from last year. Shockingly, Dublin Central has seen a loss of 1,553 hours of overnight respite care.

Last week the Dooleys told their story on the Sean O'Rourke show. They are a quiet, private family and it pains them to have to do this. However, it appeared to work because immediately following the programme they received all sorts of calls from interested politicians. Indeed, they have now secured a meeting with the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, a mere seven months after asking for it.

My question is this. Will there be an increase in respite hours to cope with the additional demands that the school holidays place on families? Will Edel Dooley have to watch life pass her and her family by again this summer while she is unable to leave her home? Will the Minister acknowledge that there is a serious problem here? Will he commit here this afternoon to halt the decline in the provision of respite hours and to increase this basic service for struggling families such as the Dooleys?

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