Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise two points. I am not blaming the Minister or the Department, but no one in the local authority is taking responsibility. The family has grown so frustrated that it has stopped talking to people. It was by pure accident that I came across the issue. I have been dealing with it for the past nine months. I have helped the family to file a complaint with the Ombudsman for Children, which is the only route available to it.

I spoke with COPE, which provides support services for people with disabilities. It looks after more than 1,200 people in its facilities in Cork and supports the family in question. COPE told me that, when it dealt with Cork City Council, as far as the council was concerned this was just a case of a family with a number and, while the council accepted that works needed to be done, it did not have the necessary funding. I understand that the council was allocated €361,000 last year for this type of work, but I cannot get information on what happened to that funding. Some of it may have been returned to the Department.

There is a lack of accountability. The family has been left to look after the child. The Evening Echocarried a front page story on it and "Drivetime" has done a piece on it, as have all of the local radio stations, but no one will take responsibility and sort the problem out within, for example, the next three months. My information is that the family is on the list and the works may get done at some point during the next two to three years. That is not acceptable.