HSE apologises to mother of intellectually disabled adult child over 'threatening' letter

Letter warned mother, who had been denied residential placement for her daughter, of her 'legal obligation' to support her 'indefinitely' and that 'includes accommodation'

Taoiseach Micheál Martin confirmed he had been advocating on the woman’s behalf with both the HSE and the Section 39 body with which her daughter engages.

The HSE has “sincerely apologised” after sending a letter to the mother of an adult child with an intellectual disability warning her of her “legal obligation” to support her daughter financially “indefinitely”.

A HSE spokesperson said the regional manager who wrote the letter “did not intend to cause any upset”.

It had been sent on February 6 to the woman, who lives in Cork and who had dropped her daughter to a local emergency department, saying that she could no longer live safely at home.

The woman has been seeking a residential place for her daughter for some time, but that was denied by the HSE, which said the daughter’s disability was not severe enough to merit such an accommodation.

The girl’s mother says her daughter’s condition has worsened significantly to the extent the family no longer feels she can be managed at home, and she should be reassessed.

After the daughter had been left at the emergency department, and been returned home after a brief interval, a disabilities manager in the HSE’s South-West region wrote to the mother giving options other than a residential placement, including a referral for respite.

They said that should the daughter be allocated accommodation via a social housing application as an adult, the HSE would be in a position to support her in that residence.

“The HSE is committed to providing necessary supports once suitable accommodation has been identified. As you are aware, this is not a matter for the HSE,” they wrote.

However, they added that, pending such a housing application, “you should be aware there is a legal obligation for parents to support their child financially if the child is dependent”.

“This applies to all children to age 18 and to 23 if in education, but indefinitely if the child has a disability. Accordingly, you are legally obliged to support your daughter and that includes the provision of accommodation,” they said, adding the daughter “is not considered homeless given your parental obligations”.

They added “a disability residential placement will not be provided” by the HSE and the daughter should not be presented to an emergency department again “at any hospital as she does not require emergency medical services”.

The mother, a constituent of Taoiseach Micheál Martin, told the Irish Examiner the letter was “very threatening” and she felt her daughter had been “weaponised” by the HSE.

“They don’t want us to have a success so they have to make sure this doesn’t work out,” she said, adding she found it “hard to believe there is no plan for someone in this situation”.

Asked if it considers the stark nature of the tone of its letter to the mother was appropriate given the strained situation, a HSE spokesperson said “we apologise sincerely for any upset caused”.

They said decisions regarding the allocation of accommodation for people living with disabilities “are informed by the prioritisation of assessed clinical needs, the complexity of cases, and the support needs of applicants, as well as compatibility with existing residents and the funding available”.

Last week the Taoiseach confirmed he had been advocating on the woman’s behalf with both the HSE and the Section 39 body with which her daughter engages, saying there were “quite a number of issues there, so I don’t think it’s appropriate that I would comment further”.

Speaking more generally, Mr Martin said he was very aware of the pressures faced by parents of children with disabilities.

Mr Martin said the next Cabinet committee on disability would look at housing for adults with disabilities, and would bring together local authorities, the HSE, and Section 39 bodies to bring “a more comprehensive response to families in that situation”.