Martin Daly: HSE Asked Parents to Set Up Company to Care for Son
Martin Daly raised a case about an 18-year-old non-verbal autistic man placed in a private residential facility, alleging safeguarding failures and heavy restraint. He says the HSE told the parents they must set up a company to provide home care, despite the parents offering to cover 50% of the cost and regulatory red flags being raised.
What happened?
Martin Daly set out a case brought to him where parents are deeply worried about the standard of care for their adult son in a private care home. He described incidents where the young man was heavily restrained and reportedly put in a room with another person when triggered.
Daly highlighted that HIQA had visited twice and raised red flags, yet the situation remained. He noted the stark cost figures cited in the discussion: the state paying roughly €750,000 to the provider while the parents estimate they could provide care for about €350,000 if allowed to do so at home.
According to the exchange, the HSE's response was to require the parents to set up a company and meet a range of regulatory expectations if they wished to provide care. Daly pressed for clarity on how regulation for small-scale home provision sits alongside safeguarding and common sense, and requested further follow-up on the case.
What happened?
Martin Daly set out a case brought to him where parents are deeply worried about the standard of care for their adult son in a private care home. He described incidents where the young man was heavily restrained and reportedly put in a room with another person when triggered.
Regulation, cost and oversight
Daly highlighted that HIQA had visited twice and raised red flags, yet the situation remained. He noted the stark cost figures cited in the discussion: the state paying roughly €750,000 to the provider while the parents estimate they could provide care for about €350,000 if allowed to do so at home.
HSE response and next steps
According to the exchange, the HSE's response was to require the parents to set up a company and meet a range of regulatory expectations if they wished to provide care. Daly pressed for clarity on how regulation for small-scale home provision sits alongside safeguarding and common sense, and requested further follow-up on the case.
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Transcript
Sorry I'm late, I got delayed getting to the meeting, just in relation to what you said to regulation for people looking after four or less, how would that stand say with parents in a home providing a care package and recruiting people to deliver that care in their home? I'm thinking specifically of a case where a young man with non-verbal autism who is triggered and bangs his head until he makes himself unconscious. He's in a private care facility at the moment, he's 18. The parents are extremely concerned that his care is insufficient, there's insufficient safeguarding. They gave an example that when he was triggered he was put in a room with someone who was quite disturbing and it took five staff to hold him down. So without obviously the confidentiality aspects. I can come back to you after, because the Taoiseach has raised this and I raised it on the floor of the Dáil. So I suppose the question is, at the very end of it, after all the intercession the Taoiseach raised this with them, HSE's final offer back to the parents, parents were proposing to provide the care for 50% of the cost of what the state were paying a private provider. In a situation where HICWA had visited twice and had put red flags down along and nothing changed. And was the provider, what type of form was that? They were the reports as far as I understand. It was a residential setting. Yes, a residential setting. And now HSE have put it to the parents that they will have to set up a company and that they will have to meet a whole range of regulatory expectation from the HSE. And it just flies in the face of common sense. So can I, obviously I don't know the circumstances. I know and I don't. But obviously. In the general principle. Yeah. So as it stands, any, under the legislation, any provider providing, we'll say upwards, four upwards, is regulated by in terms of provision of service. It was being looked at on a proportionate basis. I don't know the level of service that this young man requires. And it's something maybe we can look in. I can throw a figure at you. $750,000 it's costing the state in this private care home. Parents have done an estimate of $350,000 because they're going to build an extension on their house. And the mother is giving up her work. And that's personal assistance? Sorry. Is it personal assistance? It'll require two provision. It's our three recommendations. I apologize. It goes outside. It goes outside. Yeah. Okay. So it goes outside that act. Okay. And I accept that. So I accept your answer, Minister. Thank you. We're dealing with more support. Okay. By all means, you can come to me subsequently and we can follow up. But this is about home support.