Mary Ann O'Brien (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his reply, but I wished I shared his hope that there will be clarity. Last Friday the family heard from the residential care facility in Nurney that a meeting had been granted. They did not hear from the HSE and the person concerned has not contacted them yet. I am very glad that the HSE manager of disability services in area four, the Leinster region, is not working for me in Lilly O'Brien's because we would have gone out of business long ago. It was on 9 July that the family met the expert consultant who said that, in his opinion, the safety of the child was a problem. Now, golly gosh, it is proposed to hold a meeting on 4 December. Please, do not get my hopes up.

Let me clarify the family's wishes. They wish to save the State some money; they seek shared care in order that the little girl can live in residential accommodation somewhere in Dublin and they do not have a round trip of 120 km. They propose to take her on a Saturday and that she stay with them overnight and return on a Sunday. It is important that this little girl who has seizures that are life threatening be in a caring environment with a nurse and that is located near a hospital. This is urgent. I ask the Minister of State to convey my wish to the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, that I meet her in person to discuss the case.