Frank O'Rourke (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

While I appreciate the Minister of State's comment, if they were true, I would not need to raise this issue. The reason I am raising the issue is that the parents of children with disabilities are tired and worn out. They are at their wits' end as they seek to access the necessary and appropriate supports and services identified for their children. They are no longer able to fight. We have all heard about various cases. The Acting Chairman, Deputy Durkan, and I share the same constituency and both of us have heard these problems being outlined at many meetings. Given that the problem has been ongoing for many years, I am not making a party political point.

Services are not available and parents are no longer able to fight. They want the services identified as necessary for their children to be provided. As I outlined, once an assessment of need has been carried out, a care plan should quickly follow. A review should then be carried out after a certain period and the care plan should be changed and modified according to the child's needs as he or she develops. The equipment identified as necessary for a child should also provided and families should not be told such equipment is not available because of a lack of money. Respite is not available at the moment and must be provided.

Behavioural therapists and psychiatrists must also be involved in the assessment and review teams, which is currently not the case. In addition, the July provision should be made available to all children with mild and profound disabilities. This has not been the case for some time. There is also a lack of communication between the Department, the HSE and parents. This is a critical area and the parents of children with disabilities do wonderful work. If they are to sustain this work, they need access to the supports and services identified as necessary for their children and which they deserve.

I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter. I hope she will take my message back to the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, who kindly met me a couple of times to discuss this issue. I ask that the Minister of State meet me again in the next few weeks to discuss the points I have raised, with a view to providing a timeline for the delivery of these issues, which are important for children who require services and their parents.

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