Plight of young Louth teen raised with Taoiseach

The case of a young teenager whose parents have been fighting for help for him from the HSE for years was highlighted to Taoiseach Micheál Martin last week by Louth TD Ruairí Ó Murchú, who said the situation was “absolutely drastic”.

The case of Senan Maguire from North Louth, which was featured in the Sunday Independent the previous weekend, revealed how his parents, David and Tina, have been begging the HSE for years for help for his autism, without success. The Sinn Féin TD used his time in the Dáil last Wednesday to tell the Taoiseach about the case and, in response, Micheál Martin said he would speak to the Minister for Health to see what can be done to help.

Deputy Ó Murchú said: “I want to raise the shocking case of 13-year-old Senan Maguire from my constituency, who is autistic.
“His case was covered by the Sunday Independent, which referenced the absolute failure of the State to provide services for Senan, his mother and father, Tina and David, and the wider family.

“I could talk about major issues regarding children’s disability network teams, CDNTs. The child is not currently in school and I am not sure whether he has a secondary school place. There is a particular issue with child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, and CAMHS-ID. The fact is that when Senan was aged six he lost Sophia, his four-year-old sister. He witnessed the attempts to resuscitate her.

“The family have spoken to experts and believe there is PTSD. Obviously Senan's case has become a lot worse. In our area, there is a doctor connected to CAMHS-ID but there is no multidisciplinary team. We do not have follow-through in terms of a timeline. I would much prefer not to raise this issue here, but the situation is absolutely drastic.”

In response, the Taoiseach said: “I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I will certainly speak to the Minister for Health to see what we can do. I understand there should be a CAMHS-ID team available. I will follow up on the matter and see what we can do to help.”