‘Unacceptable’ that autistic boy faced 10-year wait for dental care – Taoiseach

It is “unacceptable” that a six-year-old autistic boy was told he could be waiting up to 10 years for urgent dental care, the Taoiseach has said .

The case of Tiernan Power Murphy from Co Waterford was raised in the Dail on Wednesday.

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said the boy needs to have three teeth removed and has been living “in severe pain” since last October.

“Tiernan lives in such daily agony that he can barely chew food or sleep, and his father Eamon has described the effect of all of this on his little boy,” she said during Leaders’ Questions.

“He says ‘he is usually the best in the world, usually the happiest fellow. Now to see him like this, not eating properly, afraid to eat because it hurts to chew, screaming and throwing himself to the ground, hitting himself, it’s horrible for him’.

“No child should be left in such a terrible, traumatic situation, and no parent should have to watch their child endure this agony.”

Ms McDonald said Tiernan was one of seven thousand children waiting for more than a year for urgent and serious orthodontic care. Of that number, 1,100 children are waiting more than four years.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin said it was “absolutely unacceptable” that a child was being denied urgent care.

“My understanding is minister Mary Butler has been in touch with the HSE.

“The HSE, I understand, is engaging with the family on this, and a solution will be found and will be found immediately in respect of this specific case, as it should be.

“I believe the regional executive officer has acted on this, my understanding is the case was not elevated to the regional executive officer.”

He said that the family had been advised by the HSE that “this matter would be resolved”.

He added: “That doesn’t take away from the broader issue of oral healthcare, dental healthcare and orthodontics more generally.”

Mr Martin said he would discuss the issue with the HSE chief executive Bernard Gloster.

“The idea that situations like this cannot be resolved, I don’t think is acceptable either, and there has to be a more responsive approach, and I will be talking to the chief executive officer of the Health Service Executive in respect of this.”

Social Democrats deputy leader Cian O’Callaghan raised the case of Kneecap manager Dan Lambert outlining the challenges for parents trying to access services for their children with additional needs.

“Children with additional needs are being left behind while their parents jump through hoops to try and access basic services and supports,” he said as he asked when hundreds of vacant posts would be filled.

Mr Martin said he acknowledged that parents have to “fight too hard, too long” for access to services and “in some cases” school places.

He added: “It is my objective as Taoiseach to change this story, and it is a key priority of mine, along with housing and along with child poverty.

“So key priorities of my term as Taoiseach and indeed as a wider government.”

The first meeting of the disability unit within the Department of An Taoiseach was held this week, where eight ministers attended.

Mr Martin said the first issue that needed to be addressed was the backlog for assessments of need, with more than 14,000 children overdue such assessments.

He said to address this new legislation would be required.

Mr Martin said the Minister for Education was developing a school-based therapy service that would first be rolled out in special schools.