Pearse Doherty TD welcomes release of €8m for children with disabilities

Sinn Féin spokesperson on Finance, Pearse Doherty TD, has said there is relief from families in Donegal and elsewhere that the €8m promised for 52 organisations to help children with disabilities has finally been released.

The Donegal TD commended the intervention made by Denise, the mother of Jack, to call out the government and make sure her son and many other children with disabilities get the benefit of this funding.

Teachta Doherty said:

“I am delighted that Sinn Féin could help give voice to Denise as she battled to get the funding that was promised for her son and many other families in Donegal and across the state.

“Emergency funding has finally been released 17 months after the announcement was made, and almost a year since Denise and Jack were shamelessly used in the photo op in the local elections.

“I have been raising this for over a year with the affected families. It should have come to this. It shouldn’t take families contacting me to raise this in the Dáil to get money released that was already promised.

“When you see how hard children with disabilities and their families have to fight to get access to funding that has been announced, then you can begin to grasp the scale of the fight facing families at every turn for assistance from the state.

“We can’t forget that this was intended as emergency funding due to the dire situation of public services for children with disabilities in areas like Donegal. The idea was that it would buy a bit of time to address the acute lack of capacity in the system.

“We have seen this week that they can move quickly when they are found out. We need to see that same energy and focus directed to addressing the underlying issues and building up services for children with disabilities.”