Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion and giving me the opportunity to speak on it. Actions speak louder than words and for many families who come into my clinic, all I can see is their stress, upset, hurt and anger as they try to present cases in relation to their children who they feel are not being treated equally in Irish society. The Minister of State and I have had long conversations around congenital conditions, that is, children who were born with a condition such as albinism or Down's syndrome, that they do not need review after review, and assessment after assessment, but that they can carry through an initial assessment. That should then open doors for them when it would come to accessing early interventions that they need as well as respite care. Respite care and the inability to access it is one thing that affects us most in my constituency of East Galway and I know of one woman whose daughter has not had respite care in four years.

See this speech in context