The mother of a young boy with cerebral palsy believes her son was “used” for a photo opportunity to promote disability funding that never materialised.
Denise McGahern criticised the fact that no money from an €8 million Health Service Executive fund has been provided to families of children with special needs in the 17 months since it was promised.
Ms McGahern, whose nine-year-old son Jack McGahern Donaghey was among those set to benefit from the funding, told The Irish Times she is “so disappointed” by the situation.
Then minister of State Anne Rabbitte announced details of the children’s disability service grant in October 2023 as an emergency stopgap to fund services for children with special needs.
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Some 52 organisations were to benefit and the funding was to be allocated within weeks.
During a Dáil debate on the issue on Thursday, it emerged that no money has to date been paid out. Sinn Féin finance spokesman Pearse Doherty, who raised the issue, described the situation as a “scandal”.
Two days before the local elections in June 2024, Ms Rabbitte travelled to Donegal and announced that €3.6 million was to be provided in the county to four organisations over three years.
Ms McGahern and her son were asked to attend the press conference and were photographed with the minister. Ms McGahern said, at the time, she believed the money would go “an awful long way” to help families such as hers.
“They just used my child for this photograph,” Ms McGahern said, adding she was “really annoyed” for “not copping on” that it could have been “all for the election”.
In Jack’s case, the money would have been used towards physiotherapy and speech and language therapy.
The family is currently paying for private sessions for Jack but his physio appointments happen only about once every four months due to a shortage of physiotherapists in Donegal, Ms McGahern said.
She also pointed out that many families cannot afford to go private and shouldn’t have to.
“There are many Jacks out there,” Mr Doherty said. “The primary thing is to get the money released, there are families going without vital therapies.
“Secondly, there has to be accountability – how did this happen?”
Ms Rabbitte, who lost her seat in the general election in November but is now a senator, said she made the announcement in Donegal last June “in good faith”.
“I am deeply disappointed that this funding has yet to materialise,” she said in a statement.
A spokesperson for the Department of Children said “the volume of applications and the additional administrative work involved in co-ordinating and collating the proposals resulted in the HSE revising the anticipated time frame” to provide the funding.
It had been intended to fund the initiative from expected once-off savings in relation to children’s disability services. However, the department is now “considering options available to resolve the funding issue”.
Once this issue is resolved, the spokesperson said, the HSE is expected to “engage with successful applicants again“.
Ms McGahern said the Government must now “step up” and “put their money now where their mouth is”.
