Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. What is going on here is unbelievably bureaucratic in that the reinforced ceiling costs can be provided for but something that requires the assistance of a carer cannot. In this case, a carer inevitably means Mr. and Mrs. O’Mahony. They are caring for their daughter who has a severe disability - cerebral palsy and quadriplegia - but are excluded from the scheme. The Minister of State’s answer would be great except it is the same answer the Department gave in July and September of last year and again last month. While these negotiations are taking place, the family of this child, who I met at the St. Patrick’s Day parade, continue to suffer. Steve O’Mahony said that families like his do not want these hoists for their children out of choice but because they are a basic necessity. Every day that this drags on, he said, is another day of physical stress caused by constantly moving the person with the disability, washing them and so on.

Will the Minister speak to his officials to see if the scheme can be expanded? I would not ask him to do so if it were not essential for young Alexis to be helped and her family to be given a break.

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