Cara Darmody's parents claim HSE is giving family preferential treatment

Mark Darmody said their family is being given preferential treatment by the HSE because of his daughter's high-profile protest

Cara Darmody protesting outside Leinster House. Her father Mark will outline to Taoiseach Simon Harris at a meeting on Thursday how the agency paid for two assessments he and his wife Noelle commissioned privately for their two severely autistic sons, Neil and John. Picture: Sam Boal/Collins Photos

The parents of Tipperary autism campaigner Cara Darmody have claimed their family is being given preferential treatment by the HSE because of her high-profile protest.

Her father Mark will outline to Taoiseach Simon Harris at a meeting on Thursday how the agency paid for two assessments he and his wife Noelle commissioned privately for their two severely autistic sons, Neil and John.

The bills came to more than €3,000, with the latest one being paid by the HSE earlier this year.

This is despite the HSE saying it does not fund or refund assessments commissioned by the parents of autistic children.

Mr Darmody says he believes one of the reasons why the assessments were funded by the HSE was because of his 13-year-old daughter’s high-profile media campaign for better services for autistic children.

'Scandalous'

“It is nothing short of scandalous that on one hand the HSE says publicly it does not fund privately commissioned assessments, but in private, it does,” Mr Darmody told the Irish Examiner.

“We have spent a small fortune for our sons and simply asked for the costs of assessments they had failed to do to be paid by the HSE because the waiting lists for them were too long.

“They paid for them, and we thought they were doing that for other parents.

"But we have since discovered that the HSE says it doesn’t fund them. 

There are thousands of parents like myself and Noelle struggling to access virtually non-existent autistic services.

“We have to assume a big reason they have funded our sons' two special needs assessments is because Cara has appeared on TV, and in papers like the Irish Examiner.

“That is an appalling way to run a health service.” 

Mr Darmody said that because the HSE "is constantly failing in its legal obligation to provide special needs and services, it should reimburse other parents like us who can’t wait because the longer they wait, the harder it is for their children to develop, and over time the damage is simply irreparable”.

Under the Disability Act 2005, the HSE is legally obliged to have a child’s needs assessed within six months.

The HSE was asked last July how many people have had the cost of a private autism assessment paid for by the HSE. A spokesperson said "there is no financial mechanism to reimburse services availed of privately”.

Last month, the HSE National Disability Team’s Assistant National Director, Bernard O’Regan, was asked the same question via a Parliamentary Question from Labour leader Ivana Bacik.

Mr O'Regan said: “The HSE does not fund or reimburse any fees paid to private practitioners in any of the health service areas where assessments or interventions have been commissioned by the service user or their family directly.” 

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However, a children’s disability network team member noted in a March 2024 email to the Darmodys: "Cognitive assessment funding (is) to be granted . . . for John Darmody . . . to be financed by the HSE.” 

An email in 2023 from another senior HSE official in relation to Neil’s assessment stated it “will be paid for by the HSE”.

The clinical psychologist who carried out the assessment told the Darmodys in another email: “The HSE were happy for me to send the invoice to them for payment once completed."

Asked about the payments on Wednesday by the Irish Examiner, a HSE spokesperson insisted: “The HSE does not fund or reimburse any fees paid to private practitioners in any of the health service areas where assessments, interventions, or therapies have been commissioned by the service user or their family directly.”