Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)

I want to talk to the Minister about the filling out of these forms. The parents of children with additional needs are the exact same as every single parent in the State. They want the best for their kids, they want their kids to be given a chance, and they want their kids to be able to thrive. They celebrate the milestones for their kids the same as every parent. In order to be able to fill out a DCA form, they have to write about their children on their worst day, about the implications for the families, about the care needs, about the impact of the disability, and all of the things that are negative about their children. They must write all of the things that they do not want to think about. Like every parent, they want to think about how their children does well and the milestones they hit. Instead, the parents have to talk about not hitting those milestones, about the negative impacts on the families, and about the negative impact on their homes. I was with a mother in my clinic on Monday morning and she described having to fill out the DCA form. I was encouraging her to appeal on the basis that 60% were overturned on appeal. She told me that it was exhausting and very hard to have to describe her child like that. I promised her that I would take the opportunity, if I could, to make that known directly to the Minister.

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