John O'Mahony (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is the umpteenth time I have raised the issue of the motorised transport grant which was suspended in 2013 and due to be restored within a few months but which has not yet been replaced. There is an urgent need to assist families who are caring for loved ones at home, particularly in rural areas where public transport is not available.

A builder in my area was struck down with viral encephalitis in 1995. It has caused brain damage, epileptic seizures and aneurysms. His wife and family particularly his wife, have cared for him 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the past 24 years. He wants to be cared for at home and his wife brings him to hospital appointments, stays at his bedside when he is admitted to hospital with serious illnesses and brings him out for a daily drive to a local café for a cup of tea, as therapy, as recommended by his consultants. Until 2013 when this scheme was suspended, she received a small grant of a few thousand euro to buy a second-hand car but this support was taken away in 2013. Now she is driving an old car which has broken down numerous times on motorways and elsewhere. There would be a public outcry if the man had suffered any serious setbacks on his way to a hospital appointment.

I have spoken to the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, on this subject. The first time I raised this issue, I was in the Dáil and the present Taoiseach was the Minister for Health. There has been a big increase in funding for the health services. I appeal that some comfort be brought to this family and, I am sure, a small number of others. That would show the Government cares and appreciates money saved because if this man was not being cared for at home his care would have cost the State many thousands over the years. I am appealing for some human nature on this case.