Barry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I raise the issue of medication for ADHD. ADHD is a condition that is real. It is not something that does not exist, although I think there is a traditional view that it is just badly behaved kids and they will grow out of it. We know now that is not true and that it is something that is identifiable. It is a chemical imbalance that can be dealt with by medication. The importance of having that medication for children with ADHD, and indeed adults with ADHD, cannot be overstated. When ADHD and a whole other range of similar conditions go untreated, those who suffer from the condition are left behind. If they are children, they get left out of education or they certainly do not benefit to the fullest extent from education. They get left behind and excluded. The treatment for these conditions is, therefore, extremely important.

Currently, medication like Ritalin, which covers ADHD, is provided for under the long-term illness scheme by the Department of Health. Parents with children who have ADHD can avail of that scheme and they receive that medication for free. I am told it costs about €50 a week. Obviously, the cost depends on the medication, the dose, etc., but that is the level we are talking about. However, for some reason that is either inexplicable or, if the reason I have been given is correct, outdated, that cover stops at 16 years. Where a child with ADHD is going into leaving certificate at 17 or 18 years, it is one thing if his or her parents can continue to pay for the medication but there are many kids whose parents cannot pay for it. A situation could arise where a child is doing fine in school, working away, benefiting from a medication that is keeping the condition in check, functioning within the educational system and availing of all the opportunities that normally come the way of every child, but for some reason the Department has decided that at 16 years, there is a barrier and once the child has crossed that line, it no longer accepts responsibility for providing that treatment as part of the long-term illness scheme. That is a real mistake and missed opportunity by the Department.

This applies not just ADHD. There is a whole spectrum, if I can use that term, of conditions that are covered by the long-term illness scheme only up to 16 years. This is an important scheme, which provides for people who, through no fault of their, own have conditions that endure throughout their lives. For some reason, in the case of ADHD, the coverage the State gives to parents of children who suffer from the condition stops at 16 years. That is a mistake.

As we head into the budget next week, I ask that the Department of Health reconsider its position on this issue. That is not a huge financial ask or an unreasonable ask. More important, I do not think proper consideration has been given to the effects of not providing these medications to those over 16 years on children aged 17 and 18 years, as well as young adults in their 20s who suffer from ADHD. Why on earth should they be disadvantaged or excluded? Let us be reasonable about this when we know that it is a life-long condition, the same as diabetes, which is covered by the scheme, or COPD and other conditions for which medications are provided throughout the person’s life. It seems there is a misguided view within the Department. Whether that is the case or not, I do not know but the evidence suggests that people think kids grow out of ADHD. They do not. It is a life-long condition. Let us recognise that and the expense burden placed on those people throughout their lives by compensating them for the medication they require throughout their lives.