Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the pupils and congratulate them. Senator Carrigy is a great colleague. I also say hello to Fintan. I know when the Minister of State makes a commitment, she always rises to the challenge of what is presented before her. She began by talking about the will and preference of this man being at the heart of this case, and I completely agree with that. However, a family needs to be prepared. The fact is that this man does not have a home to go to unless he is at home with his mother, father and brothers. The family needs to be supported. It may be that the determination of the HSE in sending him to St. Andrew's is that he needs to be kept on an extreme ward - the words used to me were that it was a very secure ward - but his preference is to be at home in his own house with his family. That may not be possible. The HSE needs to engage with the family.

I was 100% supportive of assisted decision-making, but there cannot be the complete exclusion of a family. It defies any logic and progress for the individual. Surely the two could be done in tandem to try to rise to the objective and outcome that the individual wants, while also preparing a family to support him. Bank accounts have been frozen. There are many issues. The man's mother saved money from her wages every week for all of his life. She cannot access that bank account to buy him a TV. What is happening appears to be peculiar to the fact that the man is a ward of court.