‘No hope’ JJ’s family can survive €9k loss

THE family of a four-year-old boy who suffers from quadriplegic cerebral palsy, is profoundly deaf, unable to speak and was born with a hole in his heart is set to lose €9,152 a year because of hidden budget family income supplement (FIS) cuts.

Just a fortnight after the Irish Examiner highlighted the story of JJ Ryan — who is still being looked after by the Jack and Jill Foundation because the HSE will not provide a small amount of funding for the care he needs — his father revealed the impact of the secret cutback.

Hotel porter James Ryan, 45, said his family is “finished” if Social Protection Minister Joan Burton refuses to back down on plans to reduce FIS payments for any household in receipt of a carer’s allowance.