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A MOTHER WITH a severely disabled child has said that she is at the end of her rope as she cannot find a suitable place to live for her family on the Housing Assistance Payment.
Tracy McGinnis (51) lives with her two sons Declan (9) and Brendan Bjorn (12) in a partially unfinished house in north Kildare.
Brendan Bjorn was born with Congenital cytomegalovirus, a condition he contracted while still in the womb. He is severely disabled and as a result requires round the clock care.
Brendan can’t walk or talk, has severe epilepsy, cerebral palsy, osteoporosis and a range of other health issues. He requires specialist equipment for his needs.
His level of care is considered palliative, and he is not expected to live past 18.
As a result, Tracy put her career as a family therapist on hold in order to care for him full-time.
“He can’t sit up on his own, can’t hold anything, he can’t itch, he can’t roll over – he’s complete physically disabled,” she told TheJournal.ie.
Tracy said that the house they are living in is highly unsuitable for Brendan.
His school is in Celbridge, which is about a 45 minute drive from where the family live.
“That’s just too long for him, he gets sick if we spend too long in the car,” said Tracy.
She said Brendan gets pressure sores – areas of damaged skin from staying in the one place for too long. As a result, travelling long distances in the car is very bad for him.
“It’s imperative that we move closer to Celbridge,” she said.
The family would also be closer to Tallaght as a result where Brendan’s paediatrician and specialist are located, and Crumlin where he has his orthopaedician.
As well as the distance, Tracy said that the private rental home in which her family are currently living is unsuitable for Brendan’s needs.
She moved in their with the boys just before Christmas as a result of relationship breakdown, but said that the family needed to find a new home.
It’s just not fit… long-term.
HAP
Tracy said she was recently accepted on Kildare County Council’s housing waiting list, but was told that it could take up to 15 years or longer before her family can get a home.
She has been approved to receive the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) in order to help her secure a home, but has found it impossible to find a place within the price limits.
HAP is a form of social housing support that is paid to private landlords by local councils on behalf of tenants.
Tracy said she is permitted to a limit of €1050 per month under HAP, but she said that the kind of home she needs for Brendan (a bungalow that is wheelchair accessible) is almost impossible to find.
The suitable homes she does find are generally in the region of €2000 per month or more.
Tracy said she has been to numerous viewings where there are crowds of people to see a home. She has also been told by landlords that they won’t accept HAP (which is illegal to do).
HAP has come under strong opposition criticism in recent times, with TDs saying it is not suitable to meet people’s long -term housing needs.
“With the rental market as competitive as it is out there landlords can pick and choose and they’re thinking money,” she said.
“They’re going to choose a working couple who have a secure high paying income coming in as compared to someone who presents saying they have HAP.
“They don’t take the time listen to the fact that I am responsible person and I have a Master’s degree. I have had to take a career break for the last number of years so I can care for my son.
Especially as his condition has declined in the past couple of years. It’s not a sympathetic market, it’s a market based solely on money
Security
Tracy said that she wants security for her and her two sons, but that she feels she has been let down by the State. On top of the housing issue, Brendan is on a waiting list for a spinal fusion operation Tracy said he needs as a matter of urgency.
“In one corner I’m fighting to get a suitable safe secure long terms housing for us – in the other I’m fighting for the spinal fusion to happen sooner,” she said.
She is not sure if she will be able to remain in her current home for much longer, and does not know what will happen is she can’t find someplace to live.
She has appealed for help from her local representatives to help her find some means of securing a property that is suitable for her family.
Her nine-year-old son Declan has also been upset by the situation. Tracy also suffers from arthritis and lives with chronic pain every day. She battles with depression and is on antidepressants.
“I deal with anxiety issues and I deal with depression, I would love to be able to see a counsellor once in a while but I just can’t afford it,” she said.
I feel like I’m at the end of my rope.
You can read more about Tracy on her blog Transitioning Angels
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I had an aunt called Patty and an uncle called Paddy, and can therefore confirm that they are not the same.
If your aunt had balls she’d be your uncle
@Neal, not Neil.: like the difference between ignorance and apathy, I don’t know and I don’t care.
Hahaha, very good @Niall, not Neil
It is St. Patrick’s Day.
@sean o’dhubhghaill: Patty = Marge Simpson’s sister, Patrick/Paddy = patron saint of Ireland.
And always will be
That would be an ecumenical matter.
Paddys day/end of.
YES
Or is it Paddy’s day?
My comment would be whos patty and why have they got a day
Patty, to me as a name, usually is feminine. So unless St. Patrick had a sex change or came out as transender back then, I don’t think it should be used. BTW, I’m not impressed with St. Paddy, either. It spanks of arrogance and condescention to me. Stop being lazy.
St Patrick having a sex change! Brilliant!!
@Deborah Behan: Moo Deborah.
Well, popular depictions do show him in a skirt…
Ffs…of course it’s F’ing wrong. How about we pronounce the first day of the week as f’ing “Menday” from now on…f’ing eejits over there in the US…
@panem… its not a great sretch of the imagination to realise that some yanks dont see how we get paDDy from paTrick, and mistakenly say paTTy. The real story is why we are reading about it on the Journal again, this year as last. I realise i didn’t have to click on it… but here we are, again!
@gameoverman, we’re reading about it again because the issue hasn’t still been resolved, the eejits are still using that name.
@the thinker… i just explained why they do it! Do you really think they do it maliciously? They’d do anything to claim Irish heritage. Are you suggesting there is a way to resolve such a thing? Of course theres not! The story is ‘it pïsses you off’, nothing more.
GameOverMan; it’s sheer F’ing ignorance on their part at this stage. They’ve been online now for 25 F’ing years like the F’ing rest of us. Think it’s not too far off their Fing ability to view a Fing Wikipedia page…But then again…We are speaking about the yanks here.
It’s a subconscious thing with Yanks to connect it back to fast food.
…and yet all your years of internet knowledge and you still cant pronounce Aluminium, the American way. You must be F’ing ignorant then, yeah?
Just as wrong as calling it St. Paddy’s day..
@Jimmy McCarthy:Paddy is ok James.
As per The Rubberbandits “Patty’s Day” is the yank version with green beer, corned beef and cabbage (and they’re welcome to it)
We’ll hold on to Paddy’s Day thanks.
St. Patrick’s Day is what my Mam celebrates with Mass and a cup of tea……
Another dumb yank thing is that STUPID fecking “pinch a person not wearing green sh!te”
Paddys Day or bust!
@Donal O’Leary: If he had a bust, it would surely be Patty then!
Firstly Paddy and Patty are not the same. Secondly Paddy is a name in its own right separate from Patrick now. And Thirdly and more importantly. As Paddy has been used as a racist term for an Irish Person we should not allow them to refer to our patron saint’s day as Paddy’s day. It’s St Patrick’s day. Plain and simple
Considering these are the same people who have started lecturing everyone about cultural appropriation and that you can’t do it because you don’t get it right then ya, it is wrong to call it patty’s day and they shouldn’t celebrate it until they can get it right. By their own standards.
The journals equally racist answer options make the question hypocritical.
Have to say when ,Media/ Radio stations call it Paddy’s day” it doesn’t sit well with me !
It’s fine if we get to call “thanksgiving” “I’ll take your food and kill all your descendants” day
Whenever I hear ‘patty’, I think of Spongebob Squarepants! Also reminds me of a time when I got horrendous food poisoning from a ill-cooked one!
@Stephanie Barry: ¨Patty… a girls name, or meat for a burger, even though the spelling IS different
It’s no worse than calling it Paddy’s Day
The most braindead poll ever …is it ok to call St PATRICKS day St Pattys day ..seriously?
WTF is ” Pattys Day”?? I never called it anything other than “Patricks Day”. I am well used to “Paddys Day” but Pattys…..thats pure Scutter and whats with the diddly i leprechaun survey questions????!!!!!!!!
More faux outrage brought to you by the same people who were outraged that a 4 leaf clover was being used as an Irish symbol rather than a shamrock. I really don’t care but it’s enough to send some self important people into coronary failure.
@Eamonn:
The four leaf clover drives me bonkers
@Eamonn: Oh, Spiro Agnew!
Surprised that the Journal actually had to ask this question.Unfortunately its only ignorant americans and some canadians who call it pattys day.
That and the whole pinching another person if they are not wearing green is ridiculous
They simply haven’t a clue about Ireland or St Patrick and have turned Irelands National Day into something out of Disney.
All the more reason to educate them at every given opportunity
Yet when they say Water they replace the T with a D.. F@~kin Americans :P
To quote a former minister for defence…. ‘its a “THUNDERING DISGRACE”
Irish and Irish-American cultures evolved differently. Paddy was derogatory so they used Patty. Don’t get your knickers/panties in a twist over it!! The clover and green beer admittedly is just wrong though !!
Only a complete onanist would call it Patty’s day or Paddy’s day for that matter. The correct title is Saint Patrick’s Day, it’s not that hard to say it.
What I find more insulting is that they serve a drink called ‘An Irish Car Bomb’ on the day in question, not what they do/don’t call it.
Irish and Irish-American cultures evolved differently. Paddy was derogatory so they used Patty. Don’t get your knickers/panties in a twist over it!! The clover and green beer admittedly is just wrong though !!
Firstly yes it’s wrong, secondly only in films will ya ’tis to be sure etc and Finally the colour of St.Patrick is Light Blue
Who calls it Patty’s day?
Dumb Micks’ Day
Amateurs day
Never heard of it referred to as that
They are banning LGBTQ groups in Boston, while in Ireland we’ll take the D over the TT’s
Dangerous article to post most journal posters here see st paddys day as a day of mourning as they dont wanna be Irish as they see everywhere outside of Ireland as a utopia. Please make a really negative article to make up for it
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