Tom Shehan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. When the Fine Gael-Labour Party coalition took office in 2011, we all knew the state of the State's accounts and that austerity was ahead. At the time, I appealed to the Government to maintain compassion at all costs. I have previously raised the issue of the provision of primary medical certificates to people with Down's syndrome, and I recognised that it was a big ask at the time. However, with the country in recovery and the trajectory of the public finances going in the right direction, I again appeal to the Department, the Cabinet and the Government to seriously consider the provision of primary medical certificates for people with Down's syndrome. People with Down's syndrome will never drive or hold a driving licence, and are totally dependent on their parents and family. I know many people with Down's syndrome. I will give a real account of what life is like for the parents of a four year old with Down's syndrome whom I met during the week. The child, Joseph, has sensory processing disorder, and a psychological assessment found that he had the intellectual capacity of a 13 to 15 month old. He has the verbalisation of a seven month old. He cannot feed himself. Because he chokes, all his food must be liquidised. His muscle tone is on the exacerbated weak side and he cannot take two steps without help. Although Joseph is loved to bits by his parents, like every other child, it is an awful strain on the parents, on their relationship and on the other members of the family unit.

Thankfully, things have improved immensely for people with Down's syndrome. They are no longer, as in the dark days, put in the back room where they never saw the light of day. There are great facilities for them now.People with Down's syndrome are living well into their 50s now, and sometimes into their 70s and 80s. That is great but I find that every parent of a child with Down's syndrome has to do everything for them, even when they are 50 and 60 years of age. They are always their child. They have to bring them everywhere. They have to bring them to every social outing they go to. They are dependent on their parents. The biggest worry that parents have is what will happen to their children when they die. This would be a compassionate thing to do. They are most deserving of the primary medical certificate because they are so dependent. They will not be able to drive themselves or get to and from wherever they are going by themselves. They are dependent on their parents. It would be compassionate of the Government to afford the primary medical certificate to people with Down's syndrome. I would like the Minister of State to ask Cabinet to give it due consideration.