The Taoiseach is to meet with a young Tipperary autism campaigner in the coming weeks.
It follows a Labour Party private members motion in the Dáil last week that forced a change in policy from Minister Anne Rabbitte.
The Darmody family from Ardfinnan – led by 12 year old Cara – sought a meeting with the Taoiseach to ensure that the changes they seek will be followed through on.
Cara – who is sitting the Leaving Cert maths exam shortly to highlight the issues with access to autism services – was adamant that she wanted to meet with Leo Varadkar in the wake of the commitments given by Minister Rabbitte in the Dáil.
As a result Tipperary TD Alan Kelly asked the Taoiseach to meet with the Darmody’s which he has agreed to in the coming weeks.
It comes after the Labour Deputy highlighted the precedent that was set by Cara’s brother Neil getting his private assessment of needs paid for by the HSE yet other families were being treated differently.
Minister Rabbitte acknowledged that this was an issue and said that if plans for six regional centres are not up and running by August 1st then she will look for all assessment of needs that are taking longer than three months to be paid for by the state.
