Judge: Slightly disturbing that HSE won’t fund child’s assessment

The HSE is unlikely to fund a recommended neurological assessment for a child who may have suffered brain damage due to his mother’s drug use, a court has heard.

Judge Marie Quirke said it was “slightly disturbing” that the assessment would not be funded by the HSE despite being recommended by doctors.

During a care review at the family court in Dublin, Judge Quirke heard the schoolboy was doing quite well in his foster home.

The lead on the social work team for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, told the court the boy, who has been in care for a number of years, is thriving, is popular in school, and is interested in activities such as football.

During her evidence, a court-appointed guardian stressed the need for the boy to have a neuropsychological assessment in a few years as his mother had been a heavy drug user while she was pregnant with him.

The mother previously admitted she consumed “any drugs she could get her hands on”, according to the guardian, and also drank heavily every day while her son was in utero.

In such cases, structural brain damage “is a given”, said the guardian, according to the medical advice she had received, and a neuropsychological assessment would therefore be useful in terms of designing coping strategies.

She said such an assessment could cost at least €4,500, and the HSE usually only funds such assessments for children who have undergone brain surgery, said the guardian.

Judge Quirke adjourned the case until next month, when an update on a potential assessment could be provided. “I have a duty to this child, so I can’t ignore something about his welfare,” she said. “There’s too much at stake here.”