John's voice grows tight and angry when he speaks of the two years his 15-year-old son has spent in unit 5B of an adult psychiatric unit.
His son was 13 when he was admitted to the secure unit of Limerick's Mid-West Regional Hospital after an incident at home when the boy tied to stab his father with a steak knife.
"The problem is not so much putting children in an adult psychiatric ward. It's putting a child without a mental illness into a psychiatric ward in the first place. Our son is autistic, but he's not getting the therapy or the stimulation that he needs. He's being given low doses of anti-psychotic drugs," he said.
"No one cared enough to try and find somewhere that might suit him. It was the only option we were given," he said.
He was cared for at home until he became impossible to manage, says John. There was respite care offered for James initially; however, funding for that was later withdrawn.
"In the respite service he was regarded as too difficult to deal with. The care is only offered to a slice of people who aren't too difficult. We offered a house and to cover the wage bill for the health board, but we were told that wouldn't be permitted."
John says his son could progress much more if he was in an appropriate environment.
"We don't know what's in store for him now. At the moment he's an embarrassing statistic for the health board. Most of the staff in the hospital are very good, some are excellent, but they're understaffed and morale is low," he said.
In the latest annual report of the Inspector of Mental Hospitals, Dr Walsh, for the third year in a row, expressed concern over the admission of children to Unit 5B. He said it was a matter of great concern that children as young as 11 were being accommodated in the unit.
The Mid-Western Health Board does not comment on individual cases, but it is understood to be planning a dedicated facility on the campus of the Mid-West Regional Hospital in Limerick.
John doesn't have much hope for the future and says the Disability Bill will not make matters any better for other parents.
"They've torn the Disability Bill apart. All there is is diagnosis and assessment. What's the point in identifying the problem if there is no solution," he says. "There is no will as far as I can see to do anything which will genuinely help him."
• The name of the father and son have been changed
