Family win fight to access son’s benefits

THE parents of an autistic man who lives in a residential service have won a legal battle against the HSE over control of money owed to him by the state.

Jim Hyland, from Ballincollig, Co Cork, took the HSE to court to gain control of his 37-year-old son’s money so he could use it for his son’s benefit, rather than allow it to sit indefinitely in a central fund controlled by the HSE.

The money was owed to Colin Hyland under the Health Repayment Scheme 2006, which made amends for the illegal overcharging of long-stay residents in state-funded services.