Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

I endorse all that has been said in praise of the Minister of State with whom I have worked in a variety of areas over several years. I am delighted that she has been given this portfolio because she showed remarkable commitment and dedication during her time in opposition in this area. She now brings that body of expertise to her new portfolio.

I am pleased that there has been praise on all sides of the House for the former Minister of State, Mr. John Moloney. It is particularly gratifying for those of us on this side of the house.

I could not help but reflect on the vagaries of the democratic system in that the tsunami that swept over Fianna Fáil in the last election swept away people of the highest calibre and integrity, of whom Deputy Moloney was one. It is somewhat ironic in a way how cruel the public can be in regard to a Minister of State who had worked exceptionally hard and himself had a vision in initiating and implementing A Vision for Change, as Minister of State, Deputy Lynch, graciously acknowledged. Despite or in spite of the economic woes that were beginning to descend on the country from 2008 onwards, he managed single mindedly and determinedly to ensure the A Vision for Change recommendations were implemented, in so far as he could do so, and the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, has pledged herself to continue that.

While that may sound like sour grapes, I do not mean it to sound like that. I simply mean it is sometimes a sad by-product of the democratic system that this happens to good people - this applies to all parties in all elections. However, to use that awful cliché, we are where we are.

I want to focus on two particular aspects that are of personal interest to me and of which the Minister of State will be aware from our informal discussions since she was appointed. I note in her contribution she refers to the fact that the Office for Disability and Mental Health is participating in the development by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government of a housing strategy for people with disabilities which will have a particular emphasis on the housing needs of people with mental health difficulties. The former Minister of State, Mr. Jimmy Devins, initiated a process in discussions with the Prader-Willi association here in Ireland. Our daughter, Siobhan, is a Prader-Willi sufferer and, indeed, Senator Mary Moran has a son who is also a Prader-Willi sufferer, so we have a common bond in that regard.

Prader-Willi syndrome is a unique and somewhat unknown condition. It is effectively a deletion of chromosome 15, which affects the capacity of those who suffer to be aware of when they are full. To put it bluntly, an American reference to the condition is that Prader-Willi syndrome sufferers are permanently hungry and, consequently, a great deal of stress is brought about in ensuring the sufferer does not eat themselves to death, which is quite possible if they were allowed to eat unchecked. There are other aspects to the condition, such as behavioural problems and other physical problems. It is so variable, in fact, that there is no-one-size-fits-all type, as with other chromosome deletions.

As with many other conditions where people are mildly mentally and physically handicapped, it is a mild form of disability - it is reckoned to be about 5% disability - but, none the less, the sufferers have special needs, to put it bluntly. Therefore, there is a need for respite care. To be fair to the HSE, it has gone out of its way to ensure respite is provided. I cannot but have the highest of praise for the HSE in the north west. Siobhan is now 21 and from the time she was born and we began relying on State services, they have risen to that challenge admirably.

It is rather sad that one of the aspects of the discussions I had with Mr. John Moloney and Mr. Jimmy Devins, and, briefly, with the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, was that a recommendation was made as a result of discussions that were taking place between the health services and parents. My wife was involved in these discussions. The Department of Health and Children, the HSE and Mr. John Moloney, as the then Minister of State, had agreed in principle that a residential care centre would be provided somewhere in the midlands that would be of benefit to those outside of Dublin. There is currently a HSE-funded residential care centre in Dublin for adult Prader-Willi sufferers, which has six permanent places, but these places are so permanent that it is unlikely there will be vacancies. It was agreed there should be a similar residence somewhere outside Dublin, and the former Minster of State, Mr. Moloney, had advanced this considerably.

All I am doing here is making a plea on behalf of parents of Prader-Willi sufferers that the Minister of State would look at the files and perhaps come back to the House at some other time, perhaps on an Adjournment matter, to indicate how far advanced the proposal is. It had certainly gone beyond the point of discussion and it had actually been agreed in principle that this would be implemented. I would be grateful if the Minister of State in her very busy portfolio would consider this aspect. I wish her well.