Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I wish to speak for those families who cannot get access to respite care particularly when their child attends a special school under the patronage of an education and training board, ETB. The case of Julie Anne Cunneen and her 16-year-old son Liam was highlighted on the "This Week" programme on Sunday. Liam attends Carrigaline Community Special School. He cannot get access to respite services and neither can other students of this school. Cork ETB has no direct access to overnight respite services and no direct access beds. Students who attend the school are locked out of respite services because they are not clients of traditional providers like the Brothers of Charity, the Cope Foundation or Enable Ireland. Julie Anne and Liam need access to respite care as a matter of great urgency. Mother and son are both profoundly deaf. Both suffer with chronic pain. Liam has severe dyslexia, dyspraxia, hypermobility and a mild learning disability. Julie Anne has never had access to overnight respite care. They both need a break.

The problem for Julie Anne and Liam and the families of Carrigaline Community Special School and other schools around the country is that they cannot even get on a list where the patron, namely, the ETB, is not a traditional disability services provider. We know that there is provision for 27 overnight respite beds for children under 18 years of age in Cork city and county. We also know that the HSE has suppressed or suspended ten of those beds because of staff shortages. There are only 17 respite beds available in Cork today.

I will outline what we want for these people. We want the Minister to end the discrimination and segregation that these families face on a daily basis. We also want people like Liam and Julie Anne not to be locked out of services anymore. We want organisations like Cork Parents Unite to be listened to. We want the Government to acknowledge the crisis and start providing beds to lessen the risk of a parent potentially incurring a catastrophic injury.

Julie Anne has given me permission to speak for her. She has told me that Liam can go into what she calls meltdowns very quickly. She has been injured when Liam loses the ability to maintain his composure when he becomes overwhelmed. He is going through a particularly difficult period at the moment.

A total of four risk assessments have been carried out by the HSE in respect of the Cunneen family. In one of those assessments, Julie Anne stated:

Liam’s behaviour is getting very out of control for the last number of weeks. He is getting more and more aggressive.

We were in Dublin on Friday to attend a hospital appointment.

On Saturday morning Liam gave me an almighty beating ... The guards had to be called ... I am still struggling to walk and am suffering from ongoing headaches and dizziness.

That mother loves her son. She loves him to bits. It is absolute desperation that forces her to take these steps to air what are very private family matters in the public domain. Such is the desperation these people feel. All I want is for the Ministers, who I know to be sympathetic and empathetic people, to intervene please on behalf of this family.

The language in the risk assessment I quoted represents only the tip of the iceberg concerning the number of incidents that have occurred within the household. How did we get to a stage where alarm bells did not go off in the HSE indicating an emergency intervention should be made for the family? People have to take desperate measures when seeking access to services. They have to share so much of what is very private information in the public domain. The Minister should please intervene on behalf of the family in question and the thousands of others who badly need emergency respite now.

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