Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. Her heart is in the right place where getting things done is concerned, but there are so many issues within the systems that have been set up that it is difficult to find out what is happening. I get many calls from parents who are trying to get their children assessed, into special needs care or into ASD units. Last week, I encountered the case of a school that wanted to put an ASD unit in place. Everyone was happy with that plan and there was a demand for it, but the Department of Education stated that it would only fund ASD units where there was an existing empty room in the school and that it would not fund the capital works necessary to create a new room. In this day and age, it is damning that the Department of Education would decide to do things this way. In rural Ireland, particularly in constituencies like Galway East, there are schools like Castlehackett that want to provide services for people with autism, yet barriers are being placed in front of them. Parents are being told that they can send their children to a school eight, ten or 12 miles away. The child is being taken away from his or her siblings, who are attending the local school, and from the local area if he or she has to travel to another school that has a unit. It is a fancy word, but there is a disconnect between the decision makers in the Department of Education and people on the ground in terms of what is the best way to provide services for young people.

I am a member of the Joint Committee on Disability Matters, where we encounter many people who are frustrated because the services they are told exist are not there when they seek them out or because they do not know where to find them. The same applies to older people. Home care is of paramount importance to older people if we are to keep them in their homes for longer and save the State a great deal of money. We need to ensure that enough people are attracted to a career in home help.

We will table a Private Members’ motion on the matter of people caring for others. We are looking for a non-means-tested payment for carers. It is high time that was done. We hope that the Government will support our motion and that we will see some action to ensure that people with disabilities and others who need help are kept in their homes for as long as possible, as is their right.

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