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The opportunity to put into place proper services now exist so that we can all live in a country that makes us proud to be Irish and if we, at any point in our lives become the vulnerable, we at least have the peace of mind to know that we will get the loving care of a caring state.
Autistic Children
The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, stated in the Dail that, unlike the striking teachers, this Government would not abandon the children of Ireland. This statement requires some analysis.
Katheryn Sinnott (pictured right) gave birth to an autistic child 23 years ago. According to our constitution, everyone in the state has a right to a free primary education. Her son, Jamie, received this service from the state up to his eighteenth birthday although as a service it was grossly inadequate. His mother went to the courts to argue that because of his condition he was entitled to a primary education for as long as he needed it. In the High Court, Justice Barr agreed with her. In a long and angry judgement Barr found that the state had failed to meet its constitutional obligation to provide Jamie with an adequate primary education, causing him "grievous suffering". As a result of this judgement Jamie was awarded £225,000 in damages while his mother received £55,000. The judge found the State's obligation to provide free primary education was based on need, not age, and did not stop at 18. He also said that Kathryn Sinnott "appears to have worn herself almost literally to the bone struggling on behalf of her son".You would think that the state that acts on behalf of the people of Ireland would accept the judgement, apologise and rectify its past mistakes.
But a government who vows that it will not abandon its children thinks otherwise. They appealed this decision to the Supreme Court. They said that they needed to have minor matters of law clarified. The state was also contesting most of the £55,000 awarded to Kathryn Sinnott. The reason for the state going to the courts is that they do not think that they should have to have a constitutional obligation to provide a primary education beyond eighteen years of age. The cost implications to the state would be enormous. Most citizens would like to think that the state would always provide for the educational needs of the most vulnerable section of the community according to their needs rather than their age. We would be proud to live in such a society.
The Elderly
Kevin Murphy (pictured left) is the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman deals with complaints from the public in relation to government departments and services. If people think they are being treated unfairly by a particular government body they can complain to the Ombudsman. He will carry out an investigation and make a report.A number of people made complaints to the Ombudsman about the unfair treatment they were receiving from the Health Boards. Under the law every person holding a medical card is entitled to free care in a hospital paid for by the Health Board. For non-medical cardholders there is a charge of £25 per day for services. However, in the case of long-term elderly patients in private homes a weekly charge related to the person's income is levied, leaving an allowance for the patient. This "pocket money" should be at least £10 per week. However, in numerous cases this law was violated leaving elderly patients with no pocket money at all. The Health Boards kept the money for themselves. The Ombudsman ordered them to pay it back.
A woman suffering from Alzheimer's needed long-term care in a home. The Southern Health Board (SHB) wanted her daughter to pay for her care even though her daughter had been living away from her parents for 26 years. The daughter refused to pay. The patient's husband, who was in his eighties, had to pay the full nursing home costs. This left him with £23 a week to live on. He made a complaint to the Ombudsman who agreed with him about the injustice of this situation. He died before the SHB accepted it had made a mistake and eventually paid arrears of £14,027.
So even when the state is legally obliged to meet the needs of its most vulnerable it finds way to evade its responsibilities. Because of the number of Health Boards involved it can be deduced that this was a deliberate policy to cheat old people in care out of their entitlements.
"People's entitlements and human rights cannot arbitrarily be put to one side in the interests of saving money." Kevin Murphy
Education and Health cost money. This government has shown its determination to save money at the expense of the most vulnerable people in this society. Who wants to live in a country where sick, old people were cheated and robbed or the relatives of people with mental disabilities have to fight every inch of the way against the might of the state to get what are basic, fundamental rights? The whole point of having a Celtic Tiger is to allow us to put in place a proper care system for our most vulnerable. The opportunity to put into place proper services now exist so that we can all live in a country that makes us proud to be Irish and if we, at any point in our lives become the vulnerable, we at least have the peace of mind to know that we will get the loving care of a caring state.
