Cork mother says HSE has not apologised over ‘legal obligation’ letter

Family disputes HSE claim of indefinite parental obligation as solicitor says assertion was legally and factually incorrect

Last week, a HSE spokesperson said: 'We apologise sincerely for any upset caused'.

A week after the HSE “sincerely apologised” in the media for warning a Cork mother of an adult child with an intellectual disability of her “legal obligation” to financially support her daughter “indefinitely”, the mother herself says she has yet to receive any apology.

The warning was contained in a letter signed by Angela O’Neill, head of Disability Services in the HSE South West. Last week a HSE spokesperson said Ms O’Neill “did not intend to cause any upset”.

The letter was sent on February 6 to the woman, who has asked to be called “Anna”, who had dropped her daughter at a local emergency department, saying that she could no longer live safely at home.

Anna has been seeking a residential place for her daughter for four years, but was told by the HSE that her daughter’s disability was not severe enough to justify such accommodation.

However, Anna says her daughter’s condition has worsened considerably since her last assessment, and the family no longer feels she can be managed at home.

After Anna’s daughter had been returned home after a brief interval in the local emergency department, Ms O’Neill wrote to Anna saying that, should Anna’s daughter be allocated accommodation via a social housing application, the HSE would provide necessary supports.

However, they added, while Anna’s daughter was awaiting the outcome of such an 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.

Last week, a HSE spokesperson said: “We apologise sincerely for any upset caused”.

Anna said that despite this, she has yet to receive an apology from Ms O’Neill, and said she felt that, because the communication which had caused upset was in a letter, she was seeking a written apology.

“I would be very disappointed not to receive a written apology given the hurt and distress it caused to my family and many other families across Ireland,” she said.

'No legal basis'

Gareth Noble, a solicitor who specialises in child protection cases with KOD Lyons, said there was “no legal basis whatsoever” for the claim that Anna had a legal or financial obligation toward her daughter.

“You would have family orders, say, for example, mum and dad split up and the kid is in college, provision can be made for children to be financially supported by their parents through the college years up until the age of 23, but to make an assertion that a parent who is looking for support for their adult child bears the responsibility solely and exclusively for that child up until the age of 23 or otherwise, is just factually and legally incorrect,” Mr Noble said.

“It’s also very noteworthy that the apology was not tendered by the person who wrote that letter, and nor has the assertion contained within that letter been withdrawn, and that needs to happen."

A spokesperson for HSE South West said it could not comment on individual cases. “We are aware of the case you mention, and we are in close contact with the family,” they added.