HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE marched in cities and towns across Ireland this morning to protest against the lack of HSE-funded services available for children and young adults.
Marching under the ‘Enough is Enough’ banner, parents and guardians called for a reduction in waiting list times, better-funded services and more supports for children with disabilities and special needs.
One mother – Trina Murphy – told RTÉ News that she had marched in Cork to highlight the lack of supports available for her son, who has autism.
“I’m here today to stand up for my son, basically,” Murphy told RTÉ.
“My son has autism and we have no services, no help from the HSE – the same as most people here today. That’s why people have turned out here today in the lashing rain.
It’s us making our voices heard collectively because one voice isn’t working… so we’ve come together across the country to say enough is enough, we are our children’s voices for their future.
Demonstrations were organised for towns and cities across Ireland, with the marches starting at HSE offices, or political or medical centres in the areas.
In some areas, the marches were supported by local politicians, while protesters in Wicklow raised issues they had with Health Minister Simon Harris.
The main protests were held Cork, Dublin, Limerick, Sligo and Galway, with other demonstrations held in Tullamore, Wicklow and Clonmel as well as other places.
Speaking to RTÉ, one of the march organisers Tanya Fletcher – who has two children with special needs – gave her reasons for bringing together the demonstrators.
Fletcher – whose son (9) and daughter (5) both suffer from autism, ADHD and have learning disabilities – said her children had not received any support throughout their lives and she had watched her son “deteriorate before [her] eyes”.
“I couldn’t sit back anymore and watch my kids along with anybody else’s kids and families go through the heartache that we went through, so that’s why we started the campaign,” she said.
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