By Rebecca Maher, Galway Independent
A march to highlight the lack of services for children and adults with special needs will take place in Galway and across the country next week.
The ‘Enough is Enough’ march will see people take to the streets in protest next Monday, 3 April at 10am, starting from Jurys Inn.
Jamie Cunningham, organiser of the Galway march, said she is marching for her two children, Mark and Rian, who both have autism.
“The purpose of the march is to raise awareness for the lack of services being provided for the special needs children and adults and highlight that the government, on a daily basis, are leaving special needs children without services, one to one services and assessments, which is so important,” she explained.
“They need this. It’s so important because otherwise they will slip through the cracks and early intervention is key.”
Ms. Cunningham is hopeful the march will act as a wake-up call for the Government to take action on the issue.
“It’s not fair. It’s not fair that the Government don’t seem to think this is an important issue,” she added.
Ms. Cunningham said there is no “direct plan of care” for a child when they enter into early intervention services. “You don’t know what services you’re going to get, if any,” she explained.
“Every early intervention team gives different supports, different one to one, different hours to each child, there’s no consistency in care and you don’t know what to expect as a parent with a child with special needs.”
She also said there is a “lot of uncertainty” regarding further education and job opportunities for people with special needs.
For more information on the march, see the Enough is Enough Galway March page on Facebook.
