Autistic man (23) ‘trapped' in psychiatric unit for five years as HSE fails to secure accommodation
A 23-year-old autistic man has been in a psychiatric unit for the last five years as the
Health Service Executive
(HSE) has been unable to source an appropriate care facility for him, his mother has claimed.
Robert Brady, from Walkinstown, Dublin 12, has been 'trapped in a psychiatric unit for years with no end in sight', Anne Dillon said.
His family is not permitted to visit him at the moment and are only allowed to receive phone calls from him inside the facility, Ms Dillon said, leaving them feeling 'crushed, devastated and broken'.
Mr Brady was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in 2019 while under the care of the
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
at the Linn Dara inpatient facility in Ballyfermot, Dublin 10.
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Ms Dillon, said he 'was abruptly removed' from this facility 'and taken on the morning of his [18th] birthday to Tallaght [University Hospital] psychiatric unit', where he has lived ever since.
This is 'an environment that is not suitable for his needs', as he is non-violent and not suffering from serious mental illness, Ms Dillon said. She added that this has led to a stark deterioration in his mental and physical wellbeing.
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'Nobody in his care disputes the fact that this is not a suitable environment,' she said, citing high sensory overload in a clinical setting and being 'full of people who are in the most disturbed phase of their illness'.
Ms Dillon has petitioned the HSE for the past five years to secure a place in an appropriate care facility for her son.
The HSE told The Irish Times that although it 'cannot comment on individual cases, we can confirm that the appropriate services are engaging directly with this service user and their family'.
'Multidisciplinary care planning for all patients is holistic and includes discharge planning', it said.
In email correspondence seen by The Irish Times, Minister of State with responsibility for Mental Health Mary Butler's office wrote to Ms Dillon in April 2025 that 'the HSE indicate that [ ...] identifying an appropriate placement for him has been challenging'.
Ms Butler told The Irish Times 'my priority is that anyone experiencing mental health difficulties has timely access to, and the appropriate level of care they require from our mental health services'.
'The Government is committed to ensuring that all those accessing all aspects of our health services are receiving treatment and care appropriately,' she said.
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Ms Butler said she cannot comment on individual cases, but 'the HSE works in close partnership with families to identify solutions to ensure care and treatment is achieved for all patients'.
Sinn Féin Senator Chris Andrews raised the case in Seanad Éireann on Tuesday, saying Mr Brady 'was completely failed by our mental health and disability services' and a 'horrendous catalogue of failures' from the State.
'His complex condition is now used to justify claims that no suitable placement exists,' he said. This is 'a situation directly caused by the State's inaction and unwillingness to provide early intervention care'.
Fine Gael Seanad leader Seán Kyne, replying for the Government, said Mr Brady's was a 'specific case' that Mr Andrews should raise under a different Seanad format.
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