The Deirdre O'Shaughnessy Podcast: 'We do wish that our children will go before us'

Teacher Ciara Reilly’s daughter Doireann has special needs. Ciara and her husband Gav have spoken out about the lack of services available for Doireann. Despite what Ciara describes as their privileged situation, Doireann has access to no public therapies.

Ciara Reilly speaks to The Deirdre O'Shaughnessy Podcast about her fears for her daughter’s future, the Government’s inability to plan and the public sector strikes.

"We do wish that our children will go before us because we are so terrified at what they will face and how they will have to do it alone."

As public sector strikes loom, it’s clear that many teachers and parents have lost faith in the Government’s ability to tackle educational needs.

Teacher Ciara Reilly’s daughter Doireann has special needs. Ciara and her husband Gav have spoken out about the lack of services available for Doireann on previous occasions — despite what Ciara describes as their privileged situation, Doireann has access to no public therapies.

In today’s episode Ciara talks about the Government’s inability to plan for the real challenges in education, how money is thrown at problems that should have been planned for in advance, and how she knows there is no plan for her daughter and thousands like her when their parents are no longer able to care for them.

“We live every day of our life now assuming Doireann will be with us until we cannot l care for her. And like this is a phrase you're hearing a lot of in media circles and I think I'm happy to say it about myself.

"Like, as parents of children with need, we think about our longevity constantly. I am not a morose person, but I think about my mortality every single day.

"And you know, we say amongst ourselves, 'let me live a day longer than the child will themselves'.

"We do contemplate, and this is very dark, but I think this is the way people need to hear this. And I'm only brave enough to say it because I hear people further down the road say this, and I can empathise and I relate and I commend them.

"We do wish that our children will go before us because we are so terrified at what they will face and how they will have to do it alone."