Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Imagine having a child with special needs, the love you would have for them, the fact you would run through a brick wall for them. Imagine having to fight every single day to get the services they need, to live with the stress and anxiety, the worry of developmental delays and the possible impact on their life and future. Imagine being told by the Government - a Minister of State, no less - that help was on the way. Imagine the incredible relief and melting away of some of the stress you had felt for years. Imagine then having that hope that your child was going to get the service ripped away from you and being told the help was never actually coming at all. That is what the Government did. I asked the Tánaiste a question. This is not just a case of saying we will fix it now. What was done was cruel. This parent feels her child was used as a prop. How could a Minister of State announce funding to organisations when the money did not exist? This has been going on for 17 months. The Tánaiste was Taoiseach for the majority of that and he tells me today when I raise it in the Dáil that he will look into it and make sure the money is released. This has been going on for a year and a half. This is only happening because the HSE is not providing the services.

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