Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

If ever there was a case which showed that the two-tier system of providing healthcare in Ireland, as well as the lack of Government dealing with an issue, it is the case of Alexis O’Mahony, who is a six-year-old girl living in Killarney. She has a pyruvate dehydrogenase, PDH, deficiency. She has a brain injury. She has cerebral palsy quadriplegia. She has visual impairment, the subluxation of her hip and a high risk of aspiration. Her family applied for a grant from the local authority. They were told that because of a Government decision a number of years ago, the local authority can fund the structural works in the rafters but cannot fund the equipment for a ceiling track hoist in order that she can be lifted. She needs daily washing and turning to avoid her getting bedsores. This is taking a massive physical toll on her family. In April 2021, they asked about this and were told that negotiations are ongoing between the Department of Health and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. They asked again in July and got the same answer. They asked again in October and got the same answer.

In May of this year, we submitted a parliamentary question, to which I have the reply to hand on my phone. It starts off by saying that the HSE and the Government are committed to providing disability services. It concludes by saying that they will reply directly as soon as possible on whether she can be helped. There is still no reply. There has been no decision. Somebody needs to grasp the nettle on this. Negotiations are ongoing between various Departments. In the meantime, her family have to lift her and turn her five, six or seven times per day.

I commend the Social Democrats on tabling the motion to allow us to put extra pressure on the Government in this regard. This is an issue whereby people who are not directly affected and who can afford the extra €8,700 per year, as stated in the motion, come to my office and tell me that while they can afford it, an awful lot of people cannot and they would like to advocate on their behalf. This is therefore an issue whereby people are so upset by the lack of the development and the lack of services being provided to other people that they come to us to ask if we can help to sort them out. The case of Alexis O’Mahony shows that nothing is being done about it.

I note that the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, states that lone parents who cannot afford it, and working-age adults with disability have higher rates of poverty, deprivation and consistent poverty. They are more likely to have urgent housing needs. They are more likely to have intensive healthcare treatments and because of those costs they are falling behind.

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