Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

No parent child expects their child to have a disability. In many cases, it is the parents who first notice that their baby may not be reaching its developmental milestones. The parents may notice that their baby appears different in some way to its peers. When this undefined worry becomes a reality, it is reasonable for any parent to expect that he or she will be able to access services which will enable him or her to make the right decision about the care, education and health of his or her child. However, recently in Ireland, this has not been the case. My constituency office has received many complaints from distraught schools and parents whose children have been on a waiting list for years to access an assessment of need. Many parents have found that once their child is assessed, they struggle to get any or all of the services recommended to help their child talk, move, learn and grow. This means that children's rights are not being respected in the disability sector in Ireland. Every child with a disability in Ireland has the right, under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNCRC, to the highest level of healthcare and education so as to fulfil their potential as human beings. What is this Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael Government up to? I was the first to raise the issue of the crisis of the Kilbrittain National School early intervention unit here in the Dáil about a month ago, and the suspension of funding for this great service from September 2022 onwards. I fundraised for the unit a number of years ago for the people of Kilbrittain and its surrounds. Following pressure mounted by me, the Government has reversed its decision and has granted funding for another 12 months from September 2022. However, I am not at all happy on behalf of the people of Kilbrittain, Timoleague, Barryroe, Ballinspittle and Ballinadee, who use the service in Kilbrittain. They deserve to have their children know that this excellently-run early intervention unit will be open for many years to come. It is a challenge on which I will fight this Government every inch of the way in the months ahead for the people who use the Kilbrittain early intervention unit.

I was asked to put up an advertisement on my Facebook page in support of Ballydehob National School fundraising next week for a SNA. In the name of God, is this what parents, schools and communities have been reduced to, namely, fundraising for SNAs in their schools? It is breathtaking, to say the least, that this Government can come down so hard on ordinary hard-working people, especially children with disabilities. In the ten seconds I have left I will say that I am aware that the Minister of State met some people in relation to an autism centre in Dunmanway some months ago. We will be pushing very hard to see if funding can also be obtained for that autism centre.

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