HSE offers to house young autistic man in family’s garden

The HSE has offered the parents of a young adult, who is severely autistic and has a history of violence and self-harm, a temporary structure in their back garden to accommodate him.

The young man ( 19) is in care in the UK, by order of the High Court, but is due to be discharged at the weekend as the funding for the placement is ending.

He has been assessed as unable to live independently. However, he is a danger to his siblings, and the Child and Family Agency (CFA) has indicated they may be removed from the family home if he returns.

The case comes before the High Court this morning when the HSE and the CFA are expected to outline proposals for his care.

Ms Justice Bronagh O’Hanlon last week said the situation facing the family was due to a “funding issue between the CFA and the HSE”.

The young man was placed in a secure unit in the UK in early 2013 when he was 16 as there was no suitable unit for his needs here. He had been placed in B&B accommodation, which he frequently left, and later in a series of rented holiday homes.

In January 2014, aged 17, he came under the care of the CFA, which funded his UK care. When he was 18, he passed into the care of the HSE, which has since funded his care, at a cost of £170,000 (€203,580) a year.

He has done well in the UK and recently passed GCSE exams, and has the opportunity to progress, with intensive supports, to third level. His parents believe, with another year, he could hope to live with a degree of independence.Neither the CFA nor the HSE would comment on the family’s concerns, as it is “an individual case”.