Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this matter. I am pleased the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, is present to take it.

Malachi was born on 6 September 2006 with the condition hydrocephalus, a learning disability, evolving cerebral palsy and epilepsy. He attends a school in Newbridge, which is 35 miles from his home. The family, because of his health condition, cannot allow him to go on the bus and must bring him a round trip of almost 70 miles in the morning and the same in the evening. That amounts to 140 miles a day.

They want to move the child to St. Lazerian's school in Carlow, which is ten miles from the family home, would give a round trip of any given day of 40 miles, and is an improvement of 100 miles. One can see immediately, from a convenience, financial and family liaison perspective, the advantage in this regard.

Malachi is a young boy with significant physical and medical needs. He has an intellectual disability within the severe to profound range. He depends totally on those around him. He is like a six month old baby. He cannot speak, walk or hold himself upright. He must be lifted in and out of bed. He has major problems.

The facilities in the school in Newbridge are specific to Malachi and cannot be used, from a measurement perspective, etc., for any other child. I cannot see but that the HSE, in its wisdom, would look at this case and say, from a sympathetic and family perspective, that it, too, would like to see Malachi moved to the facility in Carlow, and whatever facilities he has to help him attend the school transferred to the HSE in Carlow. It is a simple, family-orientated matter. It will ensure these parents, who have two other small children, will be able to have some prime time with their other children as well instead of being on the road for hours each day to provide for their loved one, Malachi.

It seems a simple matter, but the family has met total resistance in trying to overcome this problem. I would hope the Minister of State would see logic in the argument. It is a simple, family-orientated argument. It is to ensure a family can exist in the present environs of the struggle the parents have to provide for their child as well as looking after their other two small children. It beggars belief. Is the HSE that looks after the Carlow area and the HSE that looks after the Kildare area poles apart? Can common sense not prevail to help a family which urgently needs permission to move a child to another school? The long school journey for their son generates substantial costs in terms of petrol and car maintenance and requires that two small children are left at home while they journey for longer periods. If a little common sense were shown, the problem would be overcome. I hope the Minister of State accepts the logic of the proposal.

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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I will skip much of the reply provided as it deals primarily with disability issues at national level.

I thank Deputy Jack Wall for raising this matter. As he will know, the disability budget nationally was cut by 3.7% in 2012. The Health Service Executive's national service plan states that at least 2% of this reduction should not impact on services and needs to be generated from other savings and increased efficiencies. The HSE, through its national consultative forum on disability, which includes representative organisations and agencies from the disability sector, is seeking to identify and agree a framework to address the savings required, with minimal impact on front line services. The executive has assured me it is endeavouring to ensure services are protected, where possible, from reductions in front line services. Some reductions in services will be unavoidable, even with such efficiencies, but this will be done to minimise the impact on service users and their families as much as possible.

Disability services for children have a long history in Ireland and many organisations provide excellent support and interventions for children and their families. However, as they have developed independently, they were often established to serve one specific group of children only. The result has been a wide variation in the services available in different parts of the country and for different categories of disability. We need to find a better way to provide services for all children with disabilities.

The Health Service Executive, working with the non-statutory and voluntary organisations they fund and others in the health, education and disability sectors, has established a national project - Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People - which will change the way services are provided. The project is based on the recommendations of the report of the national reference group on multidisciplinary services for children aged between five and 18 years, which was produced by representatives of the professions and management involved in delivering multidisciplinary services to children.

As I noted, the written reply outlines the global position on disability services in some detail. On the young child with special needs whose case Deputy Wall raises, I understand the circumstances of the case are known to the Health Service Executive. The HSE is considering, as sympathetically as possible and having regard to the financial and other resource constraints applying, how the health service supports required by the child to allow the move from the special school in County Kildare to the special school in County Carlow from September this year could be met. It has indicated, following a request from me, that it will keep me informed regularly of developments in the case.

I fully accept the case Deputy Wall has made. It appears logical that the child in question be allowed to move schools. Few people with multiple disabilities and a high level of need are being placed in residential care, which is as matters should be. Most of those in such circumstances live in the community with their families and receive supports, as occurs in the case of the boy in question. The Deputy stated he hopes common sense will prevail. I hope sense is as common as he believes it to be because sometimes it is not shown. We are working on this issue and I hope a solution will be found. As Deputy Wall noted, it does not make sense to leave matters as they stand.

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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I appreciate the Minister of State's comments on this issue. The family in question want to co-operate and work with the Health Service Executive. They understand the facilities available in the school in Newbridge are specific to their son's needs and could not be used by another child. A move to another school would not generate additional costs, other than a requirement that the HSE in County Carlow match the funding currently provided in Newbridge. The family would benefit from the move by saving time and transport costs. We will work with the HSE and Minister of State on this issue. I spoke to an official of the HSE earlier who was more than helpful and I am hopeful the issue will be resolved to the satisfaction of the family in question. If permission to move their child to another school is granted, it will make a major difference to the family's quality of life.

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Although we live in a time of tight resources, we spend a substantial amount on disability. We need to ensure the system adopts a person - in this case a family - centred approach. The system must show a degree of flexibility. While I am not certain if boundary issues arise in terms of health board areas and so forth, such issues should not act as a barrier and should be overcome. We will continue to work on the issue.