Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

Losing a child is the worst thing a parent can experience or even imagine. Aaron and Laura have, unfortunately, had to live this horrible reality. Their little girl, Ada, passed away suddenly on 26 October 2022. She was just two days short of being 20 months old. In Aaron's words, "she went to bed happy and healthy, such a great little kid. We have no concrete answers yet why she passed but we were told we will probably get none and it will be put down to SUDC. There are no supports in Ireland for this type of death at this age and no research at all". SUDC refers to a sudden unexplained death in childhood.

Aaron and Laura received only eight sessions of counselling, part-funded by a charity and part-funded by the State. It is completely inadequate. Will the Government commit to offering as many publicly funded counselling sessions as parents of children who die from sudden unexplained death in childhood need? Will the Government commit to put funding into this area to research it so parents can understand how and why this is happening? Will the Government also agree to run an awareness campaign so parents facing this grief will understand there are others who have suffered in the same way?

Ada's mam, Laura, and another parent who share this experience, have started a parents support group, You've Got a Friend in Us, but clearly these are things the State should be doing, as opposed to people having to do them voluntarily.

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