Disability rights campaigner Cara Darmody has been assured the Government is fully committed to assessing the needs of all autistic children within six months, as per its obligations. <\/p>\n
The 14-year-old from Co Tipperary met T\u00e1naiste Simon Harris<\/a> and Minister of State for Disabilities Hildegarde Naughton<\/a> in Government Buildings on Monday to highlight delays in assessing children with disabilities. <\/p>\n Some 17,000 children are waiting for assessment. The Disability Act provides that the HSE must complete an assessment of need within six months. <\/p>\n Ms Darmody has two younger brothers, Neil (12) and John (7), both of whom are autistic and have intellectual disabilities. <\/p>\n Speaking after her meeting with Mr Harris, Ms Darmody said he told her additional finance would be provided in the budget for \u201cCara\u2019s fund\u201d, a mechanism set up to clear the backlog. A \u20ac10 million sum has been allocated, but she said this is \u201conly a drop in the ocean\u201d. <\/p>\n \u201cHe said the right to an assessment of need will remain and that they\u2019re not going to change or interfere with the six-month time limit,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s a big positive, because that was one of the things I was asking for in this meeting,\u201d said Ms Darmody. <\/p>\n Mr Harris posted on social media that he was pleased to have met Ms Darmody, who he described as an \u201cincredible 14-year-old who advocates with such passion, clarity and decency for improvements to our assessment of needs system in Ireland and access to therapies\u201d. <\/p>\n \u201cWe have gone through a good list of issues to work on together,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Before the meeting, Ms Darmody met Opposition leaders at Leinster House. She said she did not doubt the T\u00e1naiste\u2019s sincerity but said he will have to choose whether he wants to be the hero or the villain on this question. <\/p>\n