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Updated 6.36pm
THE MOTHER OF a seven-year-old girl with Cerebellar Atropy has been told there is no funding for the necessary adjustments to make her council house accessible.
Cerebellar Atropy is a degeneration of the part of the brain responsible for balance, voluntary muscle movements and posture and Kady Weakley was diagnosed with it when she was four-years-old. People with damage to this part of the brain also have little of no muscle control and have trouble speaking and swallowing.
The seven-year-old required 24-hour care and uses either a walker or a wheelchair to get around. Her mother Wendy told TheJournal.ie that the walls and doors in her council house in Meath are all too narrow for either the walker or the chair. Weakley said this “leads to her having to try to walk around leading to many falls”.
The child had never been seriously injured in these falls but her mother said this is because she is constantly watched by family members who are concerned for her safety n the house.
She said she has been told for the last three years “there is no funding by Meath County Council”. In February last year, the council sent out their own Occupational Therapist to assess the house and recommendations included ramps at the front and back of the house, widening doors, lowering light switches, an extension or a room, a walk in bathroom and extra rails.
A visit from an engineer followed but the mother of five was told again that there was no funding for this and requests to be moved to more wheelchair accessible vacant council houses in the area were refused.
Frustrating
Weakley has suffered from mental health problems for a number of years and said is now on medication. She ran up arrears on her rent after her eldest daughter moved out and she was unable to pay the full amount and though she has an agreement with the council to pay the remaining €1,500 – and has stuck to this deal – she believes that is the reason for the council’s reluctance.
“It’s very frustrating,” she said. “She’s seven now so she kind of needs it and this treatment from the council because I’m in arrears.”
If the council were to make the changes, Weakley said it would considerably improve her daughter’s quality of life.
“She’s be able to use the walker all the time and we wouldn’t have to have furniture in her way just so that she’d have something to hold onto,” she said. “She’d have her freedom – I know there’s a little girl down the road Kady would love to play with if she didn’t have to be carried in and out of the house every time she wanted to go somewhere.”
Friend of the family and People Before Profit candidate Alan Lawes said that as a hospital worker himself, in Cappagh Hospital, he knows how much Kady needs the ramps and safety equipment so that every day for her family is not a “backbreaking experience”.
“The length of time this is taking to resolve has taken its toll in the form of falls for Kady and increased medication for Wendy as the stress has taken its toll,” he said.
In response to a request for comment on Weakley’s situaton, Meath County Council said it would not comment publicly on any individuals application.
“However, no funding has been awarded in 2014 to Meath County Council by the Department of the Environment Community and Local Government in its Social Housing Investment Programme for the following category of works – Local Authority Adaptation works/extensions,” the council said. “Should Department funding be made available, this application will be considered together with all other applications for an extension.”
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Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein fighting with each other to splutter the greatest populist outrage. The issue is very straightforward, about a quarter of pensioners have been failing to declare income for tax purposes. This came to light because under THIS government, for the first time, the Dept fo Social Protection has finally begun to talk to Revenue about pension/social welfare income. Under FF, no such co-ordination ever took place.
Those indentified as owing tax will be dealt with in the same professional way that Revenue tends to deal with these issues. No-one’s going to be left on the bread line because of this. It’s time FF and SF, rather than bang the populist drum, actually took some tome out to think of the vast majority of pensioners who did declare additional income and who were fully tax-complaint. Or do SF and FF think these pensioners should be treated as fools for payihg the correct level of tax?
Would love to know how many FF politicians get hit with this, since it is a legacy issue of theirs
In all honesty there argument is about how the situation has been handled bot that these people are going to be hit! SF has said the revenue commission and the government should of made people aware of the situation before dumping this new tax onto them and FF are asking how long has the government been aware of the situation without letting there pensioners know!
@Daryl … wouldn’t agree with that interpretation, I’m afraid. It’s a typical political tactic by FF & SF. When you haven’t got anything meaningful to say about the substantive issue, then complain about the modalities.
The problem is this government will spend thousands to collect the fiver that it believes that it is owed. What the right thing to do would be to issue a general amnesty, cut the losses and improve the system, move on.
Couldnt agree more, and i think its totally wrong the way this FG/Labour government have handld this … They could at least have gone on the airwaves and let folks know what a screw up they had made and warn folks that this is coming … and they should have drawn a line under their own mismaagement and told folks that it will be a forward taxation, ie no impact to those that were unervalued by the Government and Revenues prior to this. How fair is it, that we have folks in their 80′s and 90′s getting letters to say that they are not tax complaint and owe the government back tax… ??? Bloody sickening as far as i am concenerned bg FG and Labour. And these are the same two parties in opposition that would have screamed the house down over this same treatment of old age pensioners ……
Well said lads. This government is making me sick. They will spend countless hours collecting “cents” when if they want “euros” all they have to do is introduce a fairer method of taxation. But they won’t they’ll continue to spread “doom and gloom” and we’ll be called “begrudgers”. I couldn’t give a sh!t. Can’t shut us all up.
Agree. Well, mostly. Discomforted by patronising references to folk in their 80s and 90s. It is possible to be 90 and extremely well off and be non-tax compliant…
Or should that be tax non-compliant? Whatever…
Joe Sixtwo
You are spot on . Draw a line , get people tax compliant from today and MOVE ON….. God Almighty it is so tiring stating the obvious ….. It will cost nothing and bring in revenue immediately .
Cal Mooney
You are right
It is awful to think of very elderly / more vulnerable individuals getting these letters …. Heartless fools that sent them out.
Reada
We wont be shut up !!
Reada & Eileen!
Hell would freeze over first!
I may be wrong but,
Wasn’t Barry Cowen’s brother convicted as a tax defaulters?
Brilliant tactical move by government to move us on from talking about 40% hike in levy on health insurance.
Ahhh ! Conor , Glad to see that you are beginning to see the bigger picture !
Good to see that someone else can see thru them
Surprise surprise….
Why should pensioners with large private income not pay tax on their benefits from Social Protection. If you become unemployed, your unemployment benefit under PRSi is taxable so why not pensions. If you are on a 3 day week your benefit is taxable. WHY NOT HAVE ALL FILE A TAX RETURN EACH YEAR STATING TOTAL INCOME FROM WHATEVER SOURCE INCLUDING UNEMPLOYMENT , CHILDREN’S ALLOWANCE AND RENT ALLOWANCE OR WHATEVER, THEN EVERYONE WOULD BE TAX COMPLIANT. IT IS ABOUT TIME DSP SENT INFORMATION TO REVENUE. WELL DONE
Maura
Why you ask ….. Because people who have worked all of their lives AND saved and contributed to private pensions to have a comfortable retirement have already paid taxes, now if the revenue want to chase after cents then do so , but from today . The government are not fools . Look at the bigger picture and ask yourself why they want us all arguing over this . They are deflecting our attention from all the other stuff that is happening…
In the great tradition of FF turn one section of society on another hence everyones eye off the ball cudos to you FG/Lab didn’t take ye long to learn but hey ye have been learning from FF for 10+ years.
Got it in one, Desmond , well said !
Thanks Billy. To read some of the other posters here it seems that people not declaring their income for tax purposes is ALL the government’s fault. The old habits of not playing by the rules go deep, supported by the cynical populism of FF & SF. Those of us who do play by the rules are treated as mugs. No more, I’m afraid. It’s time we took our country back from the cute hoors.
That is not true Desmond. We’re just sick of the order that this shower in government take.
I love paying tax. I love the fact that it pays our teachers, nurses, Gardaí, unemployed, those on social welfare and anyone in need. What I don’t appreciate is paying it into a big black bank hole!
Let’s be very careful about the ageist types of comments and the need to protect elderly cuddly pensioner types……….after all Mr Fingleton is over seventy and Sean Quinn is somewhere in his mid sixties if I’m not mistaken!
Fingers will have no problem counting down his cosseted retirement years on his E11,000 watch bought by the uninformed taxpayer who funded it.
My widowed Mother is 84 and is tax compliant , but she is not fully compus mentus (excuse any misspelling) and as such she would be so worried and upset if she opened a letter like this, she would worry about it for ever . It is a disgraceful move by the revenue . They well know how to check up without causing unnecessary worry . Of course people should pay their dues but if they have not and they are genuinely ignorant of the ”crime” then draw a line and start from today… Not all non compliant pensioners are in the same financial brackets as S Quinn or mr Fingleton!!!
Well said Eileen. It’s just the type of despicable move I’ve come to expect. Disgraceful!
By the way Reada your tone is unusually offensive for a woman and how would you know that the current activity of the Revenue is seeking out “cents” when non payment of taxes on contributory State pensions where the recipient already exceeds the threshold would run into thousands in any one year.
Your further criticism of the Government implies that they direct the Revenue authorities on a day to day basis.
Would you like to reconsider your rant?
Mark. I get a bit annoyed at times but I don’t think that my being a female should deter me from expressing my anger. Do i detect a bit of sexism there. I tend to shoot from the hip when I see these scoundrels and the order in which they chose to reform the system.
And thanks for the invitation Mark but I’ll pass on the invitation to reconsider. I meant every word of it.
Reada you recently commented on the idea that most readers have no idea that your name is actually female and therefor much of your overexcited commentaries may well be viewed as male like! It is not inappropriate to consider many of your rants as aggressive.
Indeed I was much more concerned at your gross misunderstanding of the duties and responsibilities of officials within the Revenue Authorities and the rather silly idea that they work on the day to day direction, supervision and control of the Government.
The constant criticism from many quarters that public servants are less than diligent is belied by this particular issue where they have evidence of tax evasion or non payment and protect tax paying citizens and the State by doing their duty. How can you possibly find fault with that and then load your vulgar hostility on the Government of the day?
Still no room for a recant?
Mark Rodgers
Why are you being so defensive of such an outrageous decision by the revenue commissioners ? I am amazed at the lack of empathy of so many people on this thread for people who have worked all their lives AND contributed towards their own retirement plan… I just do not understand the attitudes displayed .
No recant necessary Mark. I mean what I say and I say what I mean. I’ve already responded to Desmond above. But ftr I am a very proud Irishwoman and I love my country very much.
I am one of those people who consider it a privilege to pay tax. As I said to Desmond. I love paying tax. I love the fact that it pays our teachers, nurses, Gardaí, unemployed, those on social welfare and anyone in need. What I don’t appreciate is paying it into a big black bank hole!
My government is letting us all down.
And mark if you have any further queries please use the reply button beneath my comment. I hate to see a question go unanswered.
But goodnight. I can be kind as well. I do try anyway. :-)
Now more than ever, the Revenue are behaving like extortionists. They have become the enforcement arm of the ECB/IMF mafia.
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