I appreciate the opportunity to raise this issue. When I originally submitted the request to speak about this matter on the Adjournment, the parents of clients of St. Vincent's on the Navan Road had been marching for six weeks in an attempt to secure better service in the centre. They have now been marching for almost eight weeks. I am sure the Minister of State is aware of the dilemma faced by the parents, which results from a gradual shift from the health care model of the past, to the educational model of the present day. Nursing and health care staff have left the facility; in effect, they have been forced out. The service is being increasingly dictated by the demands of the Department of Education and Science, which dictates timetables, school terms and the service contracts of teachers and classroom assistants. It would be incorrect to suggest that there has been a diminution of the service at St. Vincent's, as there is no real service now.
Totally inappropriate care is offered to children with multiple disabilities, all of whom suffer physical as well as intellectual impairment. Such is the level of concern among their parents, they have considered challenging the findings in the O'Donoghue and Sinnott cases. It would be an absolute travesty and the ultimate irony if parents of handicapped children were forced to challenge these judgments. The finding in both cases was that children should receive care that is entirely appropriate to their needs. It is being implemented in the case of these children through the provision of entirely inappropriate and inadequate health care.
The move to an educational model for intellectual disability has created a structural problem nationwide. It has reached crisis point at the Navan Road campus but it is a problem through out Ireland. While the classroom setting is undoubtedly suitable for many children, it is completely inappropriate for those with severe and profound disability as health care is their primary need. Many of these children have multiple disabilities and their basic needs are to learn how to sit, chew, eat and cope with seizures. The last thing they need is to be taught sums in a classroom. One size does not fit all in terms of intellectual and physical disability.
I call on the Minister of State to intervene immediately to prevent the problem at St. Vincent's extending nationwide. It is vital that the service offered to these children meets their overriding health needs and they are not expected to slot into an educational service geared towards children with an intellectual disability who are physically healthy. This problem must be resolved as it cannot be allowed to continue week in, week out.
I appreciate there are chain of command difficulties which inevitably arise when two sets of professionals clash in a common setting. Nevertheless, a solution must be found and the problem cannot be left to sit. It is up to the Minister for Health and Children to solve this problem because it is the children's health care, not their education, that is suffering.
I have met many children with these disabilities, including some from St. Vincent's. They are given two months summer holidays. It is entirely inappropriate to send them home for two months when they need daily therapy and 24 hour care. Apart from anything else, their families cannot cope with the provision of such non-stop care while at the same time watching the health of the children deteriorate because of a lack of therapy and treatment. Parents are worn out and stressed and they do not need to be forced to march up and down the Navan Road or to the Dáil in an effort to have their problem noticed.
They are not able take up a service that is available and paid for by the taxpayer. It is infinitely frustrating and totally dispiriting for the parents that no one notices or cares. They are so concerned that they have withdrawn their children from the service because of concerns for their physical safety and health care. I appreciate the Minister of State will understand what I am talking about and I realise it will not be an easy problem to solve because of the structural arrangements in place. However, it is an issue to which a resolution must be found. I ask the Minister of State to take action before there is a major problem in this area nationwide.
