Pauline Tully
Cultural and Educational Panel · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“I acknowledge that there have been huge improvements on what is available for women, compared with a few years ago when there was nothing, but still far too often conditions affecting women are seen as a specialty or mystery when there is a range of supports and advice that women could receive through primary and community care services.”
“Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire chuig an Seanad. I welcome the Bill. We will be fully supporting it. It makes sense. It will reduce barriers for women and make access to contraception easier, which is always going to be welcome. It will also ease pressure on primary care.”
“We need to look at a better public transport system, especially looking after our older people in isolated communities. Even to support our rural pub, we need to look at some sort of incentive for a taxi service that is affordable for people, so we can maintain our rural pubs and look after our older people.”
“Community and voluntary services on the ground, which are vital for providing supports and services to many sectors of the community, including older people and younger people, are not seeing sufficient funding to help them to keep running, to recruit and retain staff within the youth sector, for example, to maintain buildings if they hav…”
“The motion that we have put forward is very broad and covers many aspects that affect us in rural life. I too am astounded by the amendment tabled by the Government because it does not call for anything, which gives the impression that everything that is needed is there, yet many colleagues across the room here ask for more gardaí in thei…”
“Sláintecare is being rolled out too slowly, so we need to see proper resourcing of community healthcare. It avoids people ending up in acute healthcare settings, which are overcrowded. I see a dangerous trend where many people are being referred from areas such as Cavan and Monaghan to Dublin for acute care.”
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“These breaches are critical indicators of escalating risk, particularly where repeated breaches occur and their exclusion may omit key information relevant to assessing ongoing dangers. That is why I am proposing that an offence under section 3 of the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020 and offences under section 33 of the Domestic Violence Act be included. This proposal is confined to two specific offences that are uniquely indicative of ongoing repeated risk in domestic violence context rather than proposing a general expansion to summary offences. While breaches of domestic violence orders occur with some frequency, the inclusion of only those cases resulting in conviction and judicial consideration for publication ensures that the volume of published judgments remains controlled.”
“I move amendment No. 11: In page 5, between lines 21 and 22, to insert the following: “(ai) section 2, where the offence is committed against a spouse, civil partner, cohabitant or person in an intimate relationship;”. The register is currently limited to indictable offences, including that of coercive control, and that is welcome. However, many cases of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence are also reflected across certain summary proceedings. For instance, while domestic violence orders originate in family law proceedings, a breach under section 33 of the Domestic Violence Act 2018, though at present solely summary, constitutes a criminal offence prosecuted within the criminal justice system.”
“I move amendment No. 9: In page 5, between lines 6 and 7, to insert the following: "(9A) Notwithstanding subsection (9), the court may, in making an order under subsection (2), specify that a longer period shall apply before an application for removal may be made, having regard to— (a) the nature and seriousness of the offence, and (b) the need to protect the safety and wellbeing of the victim and, where relevant, any children or dependents.".”
“I am disappointed that the Minister will not accept five years. I understand absolutely that when someone goes on the register, they are on it until they apply to come off it. I cannot imagine that any person will not apply to come off it once the three-year period is up. I do not know why anybody would want to remain on it. It is a good idea to have the register, and I support it. I think it acts as a deterrent to people to perpetrate violence, mainly against women. I imagine that people will not want to stay on the register any longer than they have to. As I said, three years go by so fast, and then somebody gets into a new relationship with a person, and they are not on that register. I just feel it is too short a period of time to remain on it. I am disappointed the Minister will not consider it.”
“The purpose of the register is to warn potential partners of someone who was convicted of a serious crime in past years of what they have done and warn the potential partner of the dangers of that before they commit to a relationship. Three years is nothing, in my opinion, and it will pass very quickly. I ask the Minister to consider increasing it to five years.”
“If someone is convicted for a serious offence, serves their time in prison, comes out and is put on the register, three years goes past quickly. If a potential partner in three and a half years’ time checks that register, and the name has been removed, they will not know that person was convicted of a serious crime. I know the Minister said on Second Stage he would give consideration to this. Will he consider changing it from three years to at least five years? In some instances, the perpetrator should also be informed if the nature of the crime is really serious that they cannot apply to have their name removed from the register for an even longer period of time.”
“I move amendment No. 6: In page 4, line 33, to delete “3 years” and substitute “5 years”. The proposals in amendments Nos. 6, 7 and 8 are to delete three years and substitute it with five years on lines 33 and 37 on page 4 and line 3 on page 5. They are also to include that the court: may, in making an order under subsection (2), specify that a longer period shall apply before an application for removal may be made, having regard to— (a) the nature and seriousness of the offence, and (b) the need to protect the safety and wellbeing of the victim and, where relevant, any children or dependents.”. I also raised this on Second Stage. I feel that three years on the register before you can apply to have your name removed is very short. I feel it should be at least five years.”
“I move amendment No. 2: In page 4, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following: “(4A) For the purposes of subsection (2)(d), the court shall be satisfied that— (a) the consent of the victim is freely and voluntarily given, (b) the victim has been provided with sufficient information and access to appropriate supports, including from specialist domestic violence services, to enable informed and safe decision-making, and (c) such consent may be withdrawn at any time prior to the inclusion of the judgment in the Register.”.”
“This amendment seeks to ensure that victims are given proper support, that sufficient information will be provided to them, that they will have support from specialist domestic violence services, and that they will be able to make informed and safe decisions. We need to be absolutely certain that the victim is giving their consent freely and voluntarily, that they have the ability to withdraw that consent at any stage prior to publication, and that that would be respected.”
“I move amendment No. 1: In page 3, line 29, after “subsection (4)” to insert “and (4A)” Amendments Nos. 1 and 2 relate to the safety of victims. As we know, for this register to go ahead the victim must give their consent. We want to make sure the victims are safeguarded when giving consent. While they may have endured years of violence, coercive control or whatever the offence was and while the person has been convicted of that crime and hopefully will be serving a sentence, it does not mean that the control, intimidation and harassment have ended. I am aware of many people who have separated after violent episodes, and harassment, pressure and fear continue.”
“I am just saying it is an under-resourced organisation and if we are giving Tusla even more powers and responsibilities to act in these situations, then it needs the resources to enable it to do so within the six months in a timely fashion. When a person is convicted of the manslaughter of his or her partner but was acting in self-defence, where domestic violence has been prevalent for many years, that should be taken into account. Such parents may have lost their lives defending themselves and their children from a violent situation, so they should not be subjected to this. I acknowledge that John O'Dowd, my colleague in the North, is introducing similar legislation, so we will have an island-led approach to this.”
“The Bill provides that Tusla be given the responsibility to apply for this order within six months of the conviction but Tusla, as we know, is not properly resourced as it is. It is under pressure to meet demands and people are falling through the cracks. We have children being left for far too long in the care of families where they have been abused or neglected. We have an insufficient number of foster families. We need far more. We have ended up with children being put into precarious care arrangements. We also have a lack of aftercare support, and I have come across several people who have left the foster care situation and are not receiving the support they require to navigate their lives. One in five complaints that the Ombudsman for Children's office received were about Tusla. I am not running down Tusla.”
“I talk to parents all the time who have separated from their partner because of violence, yet there is a court order for access to the children. The children are crying. They do not want to go to see, in most cases, the father. If the mother does not compel them to go and she does not want to because they are fearful and in tears, she is the one in breach of a court order. There needs to be a better understanding of the rights of the child here. If children do not want access to one of their parents because of what they witnessed in the home, then they need to be listened to. Take into account that coercion and pressure can be put on children to say one thing. When we have experts in the field, they should be able to interpret that.”
“It is quite common that children will already have been subjected to serious abuse or witnessed abuse within the home for many years, leading up to the murder of their parent. Then, we have a time-lapse between when the crime was carried out and the sentencing. What is the situation there? It is an interim period. Children are grieving for the loss of their parent and if the perpetrator of the crime is out on bail, which will often not be the case because it is such a serious offence, are the children left in the custody of that parent? We need to better hear the voice of the child. We need to have experts who recognise and can understand children because we know children can be pressured, coerced or even, from fear, say something that is not what they actually feel.”
“I also welcome this Bill. It is important legislation that will see the partner of a person who murders, kills or seriously injures another parent of his or her child either lose or have his or her guardianship rights restricted, which is absolutely called for. I acknowledge David French for his advocacy on this issue and welcome him and his sister, Veronica, into the Chamber today. There are so many cases like Valerie's where children have been bereaved. He is right; it is abuse of children. I am concerned about the time between a crime being committed and sentencing, which can sometimes be considerable. It can take up to a year for a case to come to court. Children are already being abused.”
“There needs to be a pathway from child to adult services. We need to hear a plan from the Minister on the Government is going to address this. We have the lowest number of dentists per head of population in all of the EU, at nearly half the EU average. Only one third of dentists are providing care under the public dental treatment services scheme, which is quite outdated and needs to be updated. Only one in ten dentists works for the HSE. We need to look at some way of tying in dental services with the GP visit card, for example, so that people can get dental care based on need rather than ability to pay.”
“She has 11-year-old twins who have never had any sort of access to a dentist within the public system. She cannot afford to pay privately. She had to for an emergency once for one of her children, but she is working part-time, her husband is unwell and they are depending on the working family payment, so it is not possible for them to afford proper dental care. Another parent told me hat her daughter had been called for a hygienist appointment but was sick on the day and could not attend. She sent her apologies, but the child has been waiting 18 months to get another appointment with the hygienist. A third person told me that her son had been on a list for years for orthodontic treatment. He has now turned 18 and has been told he will be taken off the list. He does not know where he is going to go to get this orthodontic treatment.”
“Ní raibh mé anseo inné. Déanaim comhghairdeas leis an Seanadóir Ahearn as a bheith ceaptha ina Cheannaire ar an Seanad. I want to raise the issue of dental services. My colleagues in the Dáil had a motion on this yesterday and discussed it in detail. I welcome the fact that the Government did not oppose it. Senator Ryan has raised the matter today as well. However, there needs to be more done than just not opposing a motion. There needs to be actual planning and investment in services. We have 11,000 people on waiting lists for some form of dental care, be it orthodontics, including braces, or routine surgery, and 8,000 of those have been waiting over a year. Some 40% of our children are waiting more than two years for services. One parent was in contact with me.”
“We need to shore up the sector and ensure that we have sufficient numbers of properly trained people who can provide the care that people require in their homes to allow them to maintain their independence and in order that they will not to have to fit in with a timetable because the carers do not have enough time on their hands.”
“In addition, there is a lack of continuity. Different carers come to people all the time, which is sometimes very confusing, especially older people who may have dementia. We want a high-quality service. That is something people are entitled to. We just need quality assurance. We need properly trained people, obviously, but we also need people who have compassion and empathy too. The gaps in provision are putting a lot of pressure on families and family carers in circumstances where additional help is required at times. There is a lot of isolation and loneliness, which we need to look at too. Others are being forced into nursing homes because they cannot get the care necessary to allow them to stay in their homes. We heard from Senator Collins last week about her mother, who could not get care in her home.”
“The people to whom the call often live down long lanes in quite isolated rural areas. These workers' cars constantly have to be repaired as a result, and they are left out of pocket in that regard. We need to address this issue in the context of a recruitment campaign, retaining existing staff and offering proper pay. I support the Bill. It is not bringing about the statutory home care scheme that was promised a number of times. I know the Minister of State says that the latter is coming, but we have been waiting for a long time for it. This is not about entitlement for service users. There is an opportunity to look at an industrial relations framework for this sector and to have an employment regulation order to guarantee certain pay and conditions. If we have low rate of pays, we undercut quality.”
“The Minister of State referred to increased recruitment by the HSE, which is very welcome, but I fear that it will just take staff from the private sector and that we will still have a deficit in provision for the people who require care. We need to recruit immensely in order to ensure that we provide care for all the people who require it. Whether they are in the public sector, the private sector or the not-for-profit sector, all of those workers deserve to be treated properly. The only way to recruit people into this sector and to retain them is by offering proper pay and conditions. That is not happening, especially for those who do not work for the HSE directly. Many of them do not get travel expenses. They drive on roads that are in shocking condition.”
“Some of the latter are young people or children. There are blackspots that need to be addressed. I sought support for someone in the area of Cavan in which I live. I contacted the HSE and several private healthcare providers. None of them had anybody available in that area. The Minister of State indicated that there will be increased recruitment by the HSE. I welcome that. He said last week that there is no recruitment embargo, which contradicts what I was told by the HSE locally. There is no visible recruitment campaign happening. Many of the people who work for the private operators would prefer to work for the HSE because there are better pay and conditions on offer.”
“We think it is important that this sector is regulated, particularly as our most vulnerable citizens are dependent on care. Regulation is important, which is why this Bill needs to move forward as quickly as possible. The situation is that we do not have enough carers. We have more than 5,000 people awaiting care, either to have their hours filled or to have additional hours allocated ones because their needs have increased. We do not have enough carers. The ones we do have are rushed off their feet. They are rushing from service user to service user and are not able to spend the required time with anyone. This leads to people being put to bed at ridiculous hours in the evening or not getting up until very late in the morning, which has a huge impact on the quality of life of our older and disabled people.”
“I move amendment No. 2: In page 6, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following: " Review of rates of pay and conditions of home care workers 4. (1) The Minister shall, not later than 6 months after the commencement of this Act, carry out a review of the rates of pay and conditions of home care workers in the public, not-for-profit, and private sectors, which should also examine career structures, rostering practices, mileage costs, and recruitment challenges. (2) As soon as practicable after the completion of the review under subsection (1) , the Minister shall prepare a report, in writing, of the findings of the review and cause a copy of the report to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.". As indicated on Second Stage, we are supporting the Bill.”
“An bhfuil an tAire ag admháil nach raibh an Rialtas dáiríre faoi 20% d'earcaithe a bheith líofa sa Ghaeilge ó 2030 agus é ag athrú foclaíochta anois? An aithníonn an tAire go bhfuil fadhbanna sa chóras pleanála teanga freisin má tá síneadh á chur le pleananna reatha? Cén fáth a raibh gilitín in úsáid sa Dáil ar an bplé seo? Tá a lán ceisteanna le freagairt ag an Aire.”
“Tá mé buartha faoi roinnt rudaí sa Bhille seo a bhí curtha isteach sa phlé sa Dáil. D'úsáid an Rialtas gilitín chun stop a chur le plé ar leasuithe móra ar Acht na dTeangacha Oifigiúla agus Acht na Gaeltachta, nach raibh pléite sa choiste. Ní hionann na leasuithe seo le hÚdarás na Gaeltachta. Tá an Rialtas ag athrú rialacha maidir le fógraíocht, ballraíocht an choiste chomhairligh agus maidir leis an sprioc earcaíochta 20%. Má tá fógraí ar líne atá dírithe ar an domhan iomlán, an mbeidh na rialacha faoi úsáid na Gaeilge fós i bhfeidhm orthu? Cén fáth a bhfuil an tAire ag iarraidh níos mó guthanna ó státseirbhísigh ar an gcoiste comhairleach nuair nach raibh ach guth fíorbheag ar son an phobail chéanna féin?”
“Cé go bhfuil sé aontaithe faoin mBille seo go mbeadh an t-údarás in ann fáil réidh le maoin chun tacú le soláthar tithíochta, níl aon rud sa Bhille seo ag tabhairt cead don údarás maoin a fháil sa chéad áit chun é a chur ar fáil mar thithíocht. Cén fáth? An bhfuil an tAire sásta glacadh leis an leasú seo chun an cead sin a thabhairt dó?”
“Léiríonn an bhéim seo ar chúrsaí tithíochta cé chomh tábhachtach atá sé. Gan tithe, ní bheidh teaghlaigh ag fanacht. Gan teaghlaigh, ní bheidh todhchaí ag an nGaeltacht. Dúirt an tAire ar Chéim an Choiste sa Dáil go dtiocfadh sé ar ais le leasuithe faoi seo, ach níor tháinig. Dúirt an tAire ar Chéim na Tuarascála sa Dáil go raibh sé oscailte roimh thuairimí ón bhFreasúra. Dhiúltaigh sé dóibh go léir. Tá BÁNÚ, Tinteán, Conradh na Gaeilge agus gníomhaireachtaí ar fud na Gaeltachta ag moladh ról níos láidre don údarás le leasú mar seo. Dúirt an tAire "in terms of developing housing and planning responsibilities for housing, there are other, quicker ways to do it. Níl “other, quicker ways” le feiceáil go dtí seo. Tá an ghéarchéim ag éirí níos measa. Teastaíonn gníomh anois.”
“Tá géarchéim tithíochta sa Ghaeltacht atá ag déanamh damáiste don phobal teanga. Níl teaghlaigh sa Ghaeltacht in ann teach a aimsiú le ceannach nó a dteach féin a thógáil. Is é sprioc an Bhille seo ná daonlathas a thabhairt ar ais in Údarás na Gaeltachta agus a chinntiú gur féidir leis an údarás tabhairt faoi na fadhbanna atá ag cur isteach ar mhuintir na Gaeltachta. Is mór an trua é nár éist an Rialtas le Sinn Féin sa Dáil maidir le bord iomlán tofa a bheith ann. Is mór an trua é freisin nár ghlac an Rialtas le leasuithe ó Shinn Féin chun an t-údarás a láidriú. Níl ach aon leasú amháin á mholadh ag Sinn Féin agus na Seanadóirí eile ón bhFreasúra anseo, leasú a mhol Conradh na Gaeilge chun deis a thabhairt don údarás talamh agus maoin a fháil chun tithíocht a sholáthar.”
“More people need to stand up and call it out for what it is, which is pure racism and homophobia. That is not representative of the majority of the people of this country.”
“Again, there were concerns about that event and advertising it too much in case of the backlash they would get on social media and an expectation of a backlash when the reports go into the local paper. I wish to say to both communities, and indeed many other minority communities who suffer this on a regular basis, that it is a minority of people who do this. The majority of people do not think like that. I ask them to remember that some of the people who are putting up comments do not even live in this country. Some of them are not even people; they are bots. It is vile and outrageous that social media companies are not doing more about this spread of hate. It is something that is being pushed by right-wing agendas, both nationally in this country and internationally and it just needs to stop.”
“On Saturday last in Cavan, the first Pride march was held in the county town. I congratulate those who organised it and took part. It was a very colourful and vibrant celebration of people from the LGBT+ community. I put up an ad online beforehand wishing it well. The commentary on that ad was absolutely vile. Laura, in my office, turned off the comments. It is absolutely outrageous what people feel they can say to others online. After the parade, I attended Cavan's Africa Day. Nationally, Africa Day was celebrated in May, but in Cavan, they had the celebration last Saturday. It was another celebratory event full of music, song, colour and vibrancy. It celebrated the diverse cultures within Africa and their contribution to our country. It was attended by people from this country and other countries outside of Africa.”
“There are many issues there where people continue to exert control over their previous partner. Much needs to be done to ensure that perpetrators of domestic or gender-based violence are deterred from continuing what they are doing.”
“I have heard of another judge who blamed the local domestic violence service for informing people about their rights and more or less dismisses or undermines women who come before that court with concerns about their safety. I am really concerned that this is to be left to judges alone. There is an inconsistency there. There are some judges who do not necessarily understand what domestic violence is, do not have training in this area or choose not to. As we know, even when a couple separates because of an issue related to violence or coercive control, the instances do not stop. I know of women who have barring orders in place, yet they are somehow still intimidated and controlled by the men, whether it is through access to the children or bringing them back to court for non-payment of maintenance.”
“I agree with my colleague that three years is not long enough. While we can look at this further when we come to Committee Stage, three years goes by very quickly. It should be at least five years, and maybe more. Anybody who is on this register and commits another act of violence should have their time extended without permission to come off the register. The Minister indicated it would be at the discretion of the trial judge as to whether to publish a judgment. I have a concern about that because there is inconsistency among the Judiciary. I have talked to women who have said there is no point going to a certain court on a certain day when a certain judge is sitting because he will always side with the man. If they are going to court to get a barring order or safety order, they know there is no point.”
“People in a new relationship who are checking who they are getting into a relationship with will not see those people listed on this register. Domestic violence, by its nature, escalates. It may start off with less serious incidents and then gradually increase. I am concerned this may give a false sense of security to some people who, when checking this register, do not see the name of the person they are interested in on it. There needs to be assurances, given that not everybody will be covered by this legislation. I ask that it be extended to those who appear in the District Court and have barring or safety and protection orders imposed on them. We need to do as much as we can to deter people who are abusive to their partners. The threat of appearing on the domestic violence judgment register could be a very good deterrent.”
“I welcome this Bill as well. It is a important legislation. I acknowledge Jason Poole and his father Joe, along with David French for their work on both Jennie's law and Valerie's law. They have done immense work. It is unfortunate that people have to do something like that and that domestic violence is such a scourge in our society. The Minister indicated that those convicted of serious incidents of domestic violence or gender-based violence could be included on this register, and I welcome that. He set out quite a long list of offences. However, with domestic violence, many people end up charged with summary offences and appear in the District Court, where barring orders, safety orders and protection orders are issued. They will not appear on this judgment register.”
“They need a continuity of care. Older people and vulnerable people need to get to know people as well and not feel like that they are a burden on society. While everything in this Bill is needed and needed as quickly as possible, a lot more is needed around how home care is actually provided.”
“That is a total lack of dignity. She inquired about a personalised package and was told that it was not available. She told them that she knew it was available to people. They asked her what age she was, and when she said she was 70, she was told that it is not available to old people. It was available to her as a disabled woman should she have needed it - which she did not but she knew of other disabled people who had accessed it - but not to her because she had aged out of the service. It was like her disability had disappeared. That is ageism. This woman is well able to manage her own affairs and would be happy to do so. Her carers are a mixture of HSE and private carers. She says there is one company from which she has not seen the same carer in the time they have been coming in. For people with dementia, that is very confusing.”
“Why on earth would she do that? Her husband deserves respect. He does not want neighbours coming in to help him to shower. Another lady I spoke to is a wheelchair user. She has been a very independent lady for all of her life. She requires surgery so, for the moment, she is unable to manage. She has waited for months and finally has got some level of care but she said she is still juggling family members with the care. However, the carers are coming to her home in the evening to put her to bed at 7 p.m. This is an active lady. She is 70 years of age but she is really active and involved in lots of committees and so on. She said to the person in the HSE - because it is not the carer's fault - that she does not want to go to bed at 7 p.m. She was told that she was lucky that she was not going at 5 p.m. That is no way to treat people.”
“Nor will it guarantee that they will be able to remain safely in their own home or be able to leave hospital or a nursing home to go home. Yesterday, I had a phone call from a woman whose mother is 97. She is living in her own home and there are carers coming in but frequently one carer cannot come. Carers are entitled to time off at weekends, for holidays or if they become ill, but there is no additional cover provided. This lady will help as much as she can and she has brothers who are brilliant and who help out, but neither the mother nor they themselves are comfortable with the personal care element. The woman and her sons have their dignity, and that has to be respected. I was talking to another woman whose husband's carer was not able to come to the house. She was asked if she had neighbours who could help.”
“I have spoken to the HSE in my locality because I know of lots of people who are waiting for home care. I have asked the HSE if there is a moratorium on recruitment but it tells me that there is not. There are many people working for private companies who are excellent workers and who would love to work for the HSE because the pay and conditions are much better but the HSE does not seem to be recruiting. I just do not understand it, particularly when there is a shortage of home carers. Why is the HSE not recruiting? There are over 5,000 people waiting for home care hours. Some are waiting for additional hours to the package they have because their needs have increased while for others, it is a new service. This Bill is not going to guarantee those people the hours they need. It will not guarantee them continuity of carers.”
“Families and individuals deserve assurances of safety standards and accountability. The Bill allows for both the inspection of homes and enforcement, where necessary, to be carried out by the chief inspector and HIQA. Increased resources will be needed and I presume that has been factored in. We do not want to hear that HIQA and the chief inspector do not have the people on the ground to do the work that is necessary. Unfortunately, this is not the statutory home care scheme that has been identified in a number of programmes for Government. We still need to move towards such a scheme. This legislation is not about delivering entitlements for patients either and it embeds the privatisation of care. We really need to build a genuinely public health and social care system.”
“Curaim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I will be supporting this Bill. Who would not agree that the private home support sector should be regulated? It actually makes me shudder to think that it has not been to date and that we have no minimum standards of care when it comes to home care services. Home support workers are going into the homes of very vulnerable people, including older people living on their own, people with a disability and people who have suffered a stroke and cannot articulate or advocate for themselves. We need this legislation. Up to this point, the HSE was not even in a position to provide a list of private providers who go into the homes of vulnerable people. The legislation is long overdue and is extremely welcome. It is urgent and needs to be moved on as quickly as possible.”
“I do not how what is happening there but it really is an issue of frustration to them. They need the one-on-one therapies for the children and they need the use of the pool. The CDNTs need to stop trying to fool people into thinking that there is more intervention with children than there is.”
“Another issue I want to raise is the hydrotherapy pool in the CDNT space in Enable Ireland in Cavan. It is not open to the children who are using the service. It has not been open to the children for years. I appreciate that some work was required last summer but it is now being rented out to private organisations because they have their trained attendant who can come and ensure safety at the pool. Parents have no issue with it being rented out to different groups where children need it, and it is a money raiser, but it is not open to the children because the management maintains that it does not have an attendant. When I engaged with the manager more than six months ago, she told me that the HSE had approved a business plan to employ someone but there is still no one employed.”
“The Minister of State mentioned that over 45,000 children are receiving support through the CDNTs but parents have said to me that when they have been told that their child has received X number of interventions, and they know their child has not, the CDNT is counting interaction with parents. They are counting phone calls, meetings, letters.and emails. That is not intervention. I do not know who they are trying to fool by that. The parents know that the child is not getting intervention that he or she requires. While all of the interaction is required, it should not be counted as an intervention. Yes, parent training is an intervention that will help the child but other than that, it should not be the only thing. There should be more one-to-one interventions.”
“so parents are not getting the sleep they need to be able to give the child the care they need. Some are at breaking point. What can be done to address this? It is not just about increasing staff. Even if we had a full complement of staff at the CDNT, they would not be in a position to deal with the backlog of needs.”
“If children are missing these important interventions, they will not be able to progress in life as they should. Parents have also told me there are huge problems accessing CAMHS. Children may have an autism assessment, but they may also have suspected ADHD. They need the diagnosis to get treatment but CAMHS is refusing to see them. Some parents have had six refusals before finally getting an appointment for an assessment for ADHD. I know CAMHS is different but there was supposed to be a single point of access between the CDNT and private care, and that does not seem to be happening yet. Perhaps I could have an update on that. It is unfortunate that CAMHS is not intervening. Parents are exhausted. Some of the children are a flight risk and parents have to watch them all the time. The children are awake at 4 a.m.”