The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
CALLS FOR STRONGER JOB SECURITY FOR SPECIAL NEEDS ASSISTANTS
URGENT need for cannabis oil to be made available to sick children
The need for tetrahydrocannabinol, THC, which contains cannabis oil, to be made available to sick children was highlighted in the Dáil by Deputy Danny Healy-Rae. He said this was why Ms Noreen O’Neill from Kilgarvan and her friends were climbing Croagh Patrick.
“They are highlighting the need for tetrahydrocannabinol, THC, to be made available,” he said. “It is a component of cannabis oil that she needs for Michael, her 22-month old son, to prevent seizures and periods of chronic pain from which he suffers terribly. I am asking that this medicine be made available through our chemists and pharmacists, which would benefit people who need it, like little Michael O’Neill from Kilgarvan. I ask that this be done before the Minister, Deputy Harris, and the Government go on their summer holidays, because consultants and doctors are afraid to give prescriptions for this vital drug.”
Deputy Michael Healy-Rae said the licensing system for medical cannabis is failing, and the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, is quite well aware of this. “I have raised the matter with him, as have other Deputies. In the case of Noreen O’Neill and her child. It is extremely worrying and frightening to think of a child suffering from seizures despite knowing that this cannabis oil, if made available, would stop those seizures from happening. Over the weekend, people were trying to get help, advice and assistance from another campaigner, Ms Vera Twomey, because their children are suffering with seizures.”
In reply, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the best approach to be taken in this case is for the patient concerned to get a prescription from a specialist. “A specialist doctor is required, and he or she must be willing to prescribe the drug and monitor it for side-effects and efficacy,” he said. “The Minister for Health has already issued seven or eight licences on that basis and has not refused any application for such a licence. The best thing to do would be to get a prescription from a qualified specialist, which is the normal way people acquire medicines. The Minister can issue a licence if a prescription is given. We acknowledge that the current process is cumbersome. The Minister is working on a cannabis access programme which will make it easier for people to access medicinal cannabis.”
Calls for job security for Special Needs Assistants
Full recognition must be given to recognise that the Special Needs Assistant scheme is vital in ensuring the integration of children with special needs into mainstream education and the positive role SNAs play in the development of children in schools, Deputy Danny HealyRae told the Dáil.
“They must be thanked for the great work they do and the way that they bring children forward,” he said. “They play a key role in supporting children who have additional care needs to attend school and participate in education.”
Speaking during a debate on SNAs, he said it is difficult to get onto the SNA supplementary assignment panel, as an SNA is required to have a minimum of one year’s service. However, service in a substitute capacity, that is covering maternity or sick leave, career breaks, or job sharing, does not count.
“Parents have to fight and are rightfully very anxious that their child gets the necessary special training to bring their child to the same level as the other children,” he said. “It is clear that children who have the greatest need require intervention from a very early age. Most improve greatly as a result. Sadly, some may not, especially those who are not assisted in time. Sometimes these children reach adulthood and become physically very strong and become a worry to their parents.”
Speaking during the same debate, Deputy Michael HealyRae said job security is of major importance. “There are young people who go away and get education and then become Special Needs Assistants, but they do not have job security,” he said. “They are left in limbo. They have mortgages too. They have loans for motorcars to get to work. They are trying to live their lives and rear their own children, and they do not have job security. That is something about which I feel very strongly.”
That is why he said he believed that promises not only to be made, but also to be kept. “We need finance to be given and assured. We need schools to be able to give full-time employment to their Special Needs Assistants,” he said.
No prohibition on cutting hay before 1 July
Confirmation on whether penalties will be imposed on applicants for GLAS payments who cut their hay before 1 July was sought in the Dáil by Sinn Féin Deputy Martin Ferris.
Apparently, the criterion states that if they cut hay prior to that, there will be penalties affecting their entitlement, he said. “I understand that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine said there was no regulation to that effect in the House.”
In response, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said there was no law or regulation prohibiting farmers from cutting hay before July 1. “The traditional hay meadow aspect of the GLAS scheme is voluntary and farmers opt into it,” he said. “It is a voluntary action, and it is part of the voluntary scheme. If farmers choose this action, they are compensated at a rate of €315 per ha, up to a maximum of 10 ha. The farmers can opt out of it if they so wish.”