Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)

I acknowledge the young lady who has brought the entire Opposition together on this very important motion. I met Cara Darmody for the first time in November 2022, when I was a member of the first all-party autism Oireachtas committee. At just 11 years of age, Cara came in to give her testimony. She was the youngest ever person to give testimony at an Oireachtas committee. On the day, just a small number of us were in that committee room, including two members of a local support group from my hometown of Athy. Cara's testimony was powerful and emotional. She spoke about her two brothers, John and Neil, and the challenges they faced on a daily basis. Almost three years later, Cara and her dad, Mark, who I acknowledge in the Public Gallery, are back on the protest again. I joined them earlier today, as I have done numerous times previously. I want everyone to know that Cara's resolve is unbroken from the 11-year-old I first listened to in 2022.

Cara continues to have my support and the support of the entire Labour Party. I will talk about the national emergency she wants declared. Cara has a simple ask for the Government: stop breaking the assessment of needs law and declare that emergency, but it is an ask that the Government has ignored. Many Government leaders and Ministers have met Cara over the past few years and can attest to her determination in advocating for her brothers. However, meetings are not enough. Maybe the Government thought that Cara would disappear but that is another mistake by the Government. Cara is not going anywhere. Families like hers are not going anywhere. Cara's next step is advocating for her brothers and others like them, as she begins her 50-hour protest at Leinster House today.

In my area of County Kildare, we have the second highest number of children who are overdue an assessment of need at nearly 1,700 children. Tens of thousands of children are languishing on waiting lists for essential therapies. More than 20,000 children are waiting on psychology and OT. Nearly 19,000 children are waiting on speech and language therapy while nearly 10,000 are waiting on physio. We know that early intervention is key, yet the average waiting time for the CDNT in my area is more than three years. The CDNT in Kildare is dealing with a massive caseload. We need to seriously consider having two CDNTs to cover this particular area.

It is always important to give the day-to-day experiences of many of the people I deal with. I am dealing with one family at present whose child continues to beat their head off the floor day in, day out. The response from the HSE is group therapy - that the family should talk about their child's needs with their neighbours and strangers. As the mother said to me today, does anyone realise how demeaning that is to her and her family? It is the same for another child who got an assessment in 2012. That child is still waiting for a follow-up assessment. That child is now an adult and will be 21 years of age in February. That is just two cases out of the many cases I deal with on a daily basis, as do many of my colleagues on the Opposition benches. I am sure the Minister of State and her colleagues are dealing with cases also, but we are not getting the reaction these families deserve. We are not getting the reaction that Cara, her father, Mark, her brothers and everybody else deserves.

It is time that the Government moved on this. It is time the Government realised that Cara Darmody is not going anywhere. She will continue her protest.

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