A Tipperary family is desperately seeking a place in an Autism Unit for their son

The case of a five year-old boy who is desperately seeking a place in an Autism Unit and has received five letters of rejection has been raised in Dáil Eireann.

The plight of the Cahir family was raised by South Tipperary TD Seamus Healy.

The boy is the youngest of five who lives in Cahir.

The closest school to the family has two ASD Units but says the school cannot take any more students as all places are allocated. The family has been informed by the school that the school believes there is unmet need for upwards of over a dozen other children.

The child’s mother, Tina Barrett, is unhappy with the situation and the suggestion that they apply to schools outside the county was unacceptable.The parents are concerned that the child will regress if a place in an ASD unit is not made available.

The Tánaiste, Simon Harris responded to Deputy Healy in the Dáil and accepted that the Government needed to do better.

The child had waited over two years for an assessment of need to be completed which the family eventually sourced privately – current legislation provides that such an assessment be completed within a six month period of being requested. 

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Simon Harris says improving such services for children with a disability will be a Government priority in the time ahead and offered to have Minister Michael Moynihan, the Minister of State for Special Education contact the family and Deputy Healy to work on providing a place for next September.