Tom Clonan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I absolutely acknowledge the Minister of State's sincerity and that of Senator Rabbitte on these matters. The Minister of State mentioned the CDNTs. The CDNTs are completely and utterly dysfunctional. My understanding is that the person who launched the CDNT programme was seconded to the HSE. They were not a clinician. There was never any clinical sign-off on the CDNT system and they have absolutely destroyed what little we had. There was never any clinical risk assessment of what would happen to our children and now it is happening. That person has utterly evaded any responsibility. I am hoping that we get the committees up and running because I want that person in front of the committee on disability matters to answer those questions. We need to have clinicians in the place where children are, in the school setting. I know there is a pilot for that.

I will introduce the Minister of State to Kelly-Marie to see if he can follow up on Eve Lynne's case, but we should not have to do this on an individual, case-by-case basis. Families like Kelly-Marie's should not have to go public and tell their story. It is like a perverse version of "The Hunger Games". We have to go on "The Late Late Show" to get wheelchairs for our children. It is like a show of Ireland's sickest family, to try to get basic supports. It is just not good enough. It is a circus. I say that in the worst possible sense. Our disabled citizens need rights-based legislation to completely put an end to this bit-by-bit attritional attempt to help people.