Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach is aware of who Cara Darmody is. Cara is here in today in the Gallery with her dad, Mark. She is directly in front of the Taoiseach so he might give her a wave. She is the most high-profile autism advocate in Ireland today. She recently sat the junior cycle maths exam at only 11 years of age to raise awareness for the lack of therapies and assessments for autistic children. She received an incredible result of 97%, which was delivered live on the "Late Late Show". She has received the award for Munster Young Carer of the Year, she has received a Tipperary person award and she presented testimony at an Oireachtas committee only last week. She will now sit her leaving certificate at the age of 12 in an effort to raise awareness of the crisis for the 1,800 children who are waiting for assessments and supports. While her family could get an assessment for her brother, Neil, it cost approximately €1,730. Why is that so? Why can the HSE not deal with these people? She has to sit and watch Neil - and I was in the house last night - who has the mental age perhaps of a six-month-old. At the age of 12, she sees self-harming and him injuring himself and she has to endure that.

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