Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)

I thank the Minister of State. I appreciate that.

When I offered my sympathy to the family, including the parent, the parent told me directly she did not want it. I appreciated that because, from a public representative's point of view, it was quite difficult for me that a parliamentary question did not outline specifically whether the child would be provided with the necessary incontinence products he so needs. At four years old, the child, along with his mother, has gone through so much, as outlined in the mother's email that I read in my opening statement. The Minister of State knows himself that when an email like that comes into your inbox, you directly engage on it because it is the on-the-ground issues that are directly affecting people. Often they go unnoticed because parents are afraid to speak up about them. They try to buy the incontinence products themselves. The Minister will have noted from the email that the mother has paid for all CDNT provision from her own pocket. This points to a systemic failure in our CDNT system.

What the Minister said about person-centred policy and further engagement is very welcome but, as he will have noted from my opening statement, the clinical nurse has never even met the four-year-old child. That is the disappointing thing here. Perhaps there are several boys and girls of the same age under the nurse's remit but the fact that the nurse has not even met the child is an issue. This is why I do not understand how a clinical assessment could have taken place. It cannot just be a conversation between a parent and a nurse.

I cannot see on the HSE website the policy that the nurse has outlined to the parent, namely, that four incontinence products is the maximum number that can be provided. The number increased to six after the parent told the nurse that she had been lobbying local TDs. I ask the Minister of State to ask the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, to engage with the parent on a one-to-one basis.

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