Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

This morning Cara Darmody committed to protest every week from now on unless the Government fully and immediately takes action to vindicate the rights of children with additional needs. It needs to give her those commitments and undertake those actions. I promised the parents of a child named Frankie that I would mention him. He is four-and-a-half years old. He has autism. He has global developmental delay, sensory issues, low muscle tone and a genetic condition. He lives with his family in an overcrowded council house. Two specialists have asked the council to prioritise the family for a transfer because he is a flight risk and they have nowhere to go. They have to tape the doors closed when the mum is going to the bathroom in case Frankie flies out the door. The council has refused the medical priority which was appealed for by two specialists for Frankie. It is unbelievable. Something needs to be done for Frankie and his family, but this is emblematic of our failure of children with additional needs. It has to stop.

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