Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I asked this question because of a constituent, who was mentioned in the question, and because 40% of those surveyed by the ESRI in 2022 felt their lives had been significantly impacted by insufficient PA hours. The Irish Wheelchair Association estimates that more than 60% of individuals currently receiving personal assistance services or home support require significantly more hours than they are receiving, and that is only an estimate because no comprehensive data on the issue currently exists. The constituent of mine named in my question is wheelchair bound but his independence is curtailed not by his physical ability but, instead, by the fact personal assistants in Clare are so overstretched, and hours so underassigned, that he is reliant on the gaps in his care being provided by his parents, both of whom are in their 70s. This issue is not restricted to my constituent. There is not adequate support for this young man.

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