Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:notes:

— the vital role people with a disability play in Irish society;

— that 45% of people with disabilities experienced income poverty;

— that 36% of people with a disability experienced basic deprivation;

— that as 85% of working-age disability is acquired and households headed by people with a disability are twice as likely to experience unemployment than those that are not headed by a person with a disability, this issue cannot go unaddressed if we are to reduce poverty in Ireland;

— that over half of those living in jobless households are either children or adults with a disability;

— that people with disabilities must not become the new underclass of workers and they must be afforded an adequate working wage; and

— that any further cuts to respite, day-care or residential places are not sustainable;

and calls on the Government to:

— ensure that all people with a disability are guaranteed a quality service as a right;

— end all cuts to front-line services;

— appoint a senior Minister with a dedicated responsibility for disability inclusion;

— prioritise funding of disability services in line with the Taoiseach and Tánaiste’s solemn pre-election commitments to disability; and

— pursue the implementation of agreed measures, targets and timelines for disability.

I wish to share time with Deputies Thomas Pringle, Catherine Murphy, Maureen O'Sullivan, Tom Fleming and Stephen Donnelly.

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