I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing this Adjournment debate and thank the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, for attending. This matter arises from my frustration over trying to resolve the problems of the unfortunate person in question. He was involved in a separation and got his own local authority house in my home town of Athy. Unfortunately, he suffered from a stroke and is therefore not able to relate to family members or friends who visit. One can imagine the frustration this causes him.
The man has his own home and looks after it. He was really appreciative when the local authority provided the house. However, due to his health condition, he suffers from all the problems that result from a lack of communication with the outside world. I have tried through every means available to me to obtain for him some type of speech and language therapy, but without success. As the Minister of State will note from the further information with which I supplied him, the Health Service Executive, south-eastern area does not provide community speech and language therapy services for adults. The outpatient services which were available previously from Naas Hospital have ceased and only a minimal number of speech therapy sessions are available for inpatients. One could argue that the only course of action available to the man in question is to try to get readmitted to the hospital to obtain inpatient services. Given that only a minimal number of sessions are available, it would not be of much benefit to him.
There is no funding available for the man in question. He is a medical card holder and has retained the card through representations. He attended the National Rehabilitation Centre in Dún Laoghaire as part of his rehabilitation after his stroke. He has met a stone wall because the Health Service Executive is not in a position to provide the communication link between him and the outside world, including his friends and family. I hope the Minister of State will try to do something for this man.
It seems futile for a person to overcome so much and be thwarted in this way. He holds a medical card. Does this reply from the Health Service Executive imply that no one in the executive's south-western area will provide speech and language therapy for an adult? Will everyone who suffers a stroke be in the position that he or she must get private tuition, funded personally or by family members, or some other mechanism, or must these people suffer in a limbo of non-communication?
One can see this man's frustration. He cannot speak on the phone although he can call for help if he needs it. He is totally isolated. I hope the Minister of State's reply will offer him some solace and that the Health Service Executive, which receives so much funding from the Exchequer, will provide a service for him. This man contributed to the Exchequer, having worked all his life until he fell ill. He paid tax and social insurance contributions. I hope there will be some light at the end of the tunnel for him and that he will be able to communicate with the outside world.