John Brassil (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I compliment the Minister of State on the ratification of the convention and welcome the contributions of Members. In particular, I recognise the great work done by Senator John Dolan in this area. Many speakers have said that ratification without implementation is meaningless and that is worth repeating. However, I note the Minister of State's commitment and look forward to working with him to implement as much as we can in as short a period as possible. There are a few issues on which I wish to focus specifically while the Minister of State is in front of me. He met with a group from Ashfield House, Listowel, last summer and gave them a commitment that he would come to the town to meet them. Events like the recent bad weather have delayed that but I ask him to consider a date and to set it as soon as possible. I recognise the delivery of Kilmorna respite house which will open in April and which the Minister of State and I worked together to achieve. I acknowledge that in the House. I also acknowledge the delivery of a nurse for the Nano Nagle school, which we also worked on together. The Minister of State met with the parents on that. I want to go for a hat trick with Ashfield House, in which regard I look forward to meeting the Minister of State in Listowel shortly.

When disabled children, in particular profoundly disabled children, become adults, there are a few things that can make life easier for their parents. Where those children used to get a disabled person's grant from the HSE to provide for necessary equipment, it is replaced when they become adults with the mobility aids grant. If, on becoming an adult, a person needs a new hoist, he or she must go through the application process again, obtain occupational therapy reports and face every sort of blockage. That should be an automatic entitlement. The advance of information technology will hopefully facilitate that, but it is very unfair in the meantime to ask parents with profoundly disabled children to apply for equipment again when those children become adults for whom they continue to care. It is a protracted process which a little tweaking and common sense could solve.

The primary medical care certificate is next to impossible to get. The Minister of State must review who qualifies for it. A previous speaker referred to the mobility allowance and motorised transport grant. I know it is on the Minister of State's desk, but it needs to move on to delivery. Electronic health records and an individual health identifier for disabled persons would be very welcome and we need to progress those measures. Another issue which must be considered is the qualification of carers of disabled children for a free travel pass. In many cases, the nature of a disability means both parents must be available to travel with a child. The carer should be allowed to nominate the second parent to travel with the child to hospital in Dublin, for example. If we do not allow this, parents will have to drive up, which adds to congestion. The new children's hospital will be at St. James's Hospital which is down the road from Heuston station and linked to the DART via the Luas line. We must ensure that parents who qualify for the free travel pass can nominate a partner to travel with them free of charge to avail properly of the facility.

Carers do not qualify for the fuel allowance but many others in receipt of State payments do. The Minister of State could look at that. Where there are two parents looking after a profoundly disabled child, the Minister of State should consider one and a half times the carer's payment as opposed to a single carer's payment. One parent will often be able to work only limited hours to be available to help the caring partner. If the rate were increased to one and a half times, it would be hugely beneficial for many parents. Those are just a few practical issues which I ask the Minister of State to consider in the short term. It would be greatly beneficial for those caring for children with disabilities. I look forward to working with the Minister of State as we have done over the past two and a half years to get key items over the line.

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