Actor Colin Farrell has revealed that he is seeking long term care for his son James so he has a place where he can have a "full and happy life".
Farrell's son James, aged 21, has Angelman syndrome, a complex condition which affects his mobility.
Now, Farrell has said that he is keen to "find somewhere we like where he can go now, while we're still alive and healthy, that we can go and visit, and we can take him out sometimes".
"It’s tricky, some parents will say: 'I want to take care of my child myself. ’ And I respect that", the actor continued. "But my horror would be... What if I have a heart attack tomorrow, and, God forbid, James’ mother, Kim, has a car crash and she’s taken too – and then James is on his own?".
"Then he’s a ward of the state and he goes where? We’d have no say in it", he added.
"We want him to find somewhere where he can have a full and happy life, where he feels connected".
"He needs a bigger life than we can afford him, by having a sense of community that he feels connected to, by going out in the van every day and going to the supermarket and doing the shopping together, by going to the beach, museums, movies, all that stuff. Just a connected life".
Last year, Colin Farrell announced the launch of the Colin Farrell Foundation to assist people with complex needs.
That same year, Colin Farrell also ran the Dublin City Marathon, raising €774,000 for the charity Debra, who help people battling Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), a rare skin disease also known as "Butterfly Skin". The actor ran the marathon with his friend, Emma Fogarty, who is Ireland's longest survivor of the disease. More on this here.
Last week, Colin Farrell also paid tribute to his late father Eamon at his funeral. Eamon Farrell died following a long illness. More on this story here.
