Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

The Department is blocking people from getting assistance. That is what a refusal is. It is a block. Up to 40,000 people, which is equivalent to the populations of Athlone and Portlaoise combined, have been refused by the Department and then been granted the allowance subsequently. The Minister might blame the people for not having all the information first or not being able to fill the document, but it is the Minister's responsibility to make a document that is accessible to people with disabilities. Some 69% of the refusals were overturned. Imagine the number of people who were refused but did not apply for a review of the decision. There could be thousands of people who honestly, fairly and justly applied, were refused by the Department, did not make an appeal and could have got it. That is a serious question.

It is interesting that before the referendums the Ministers, Deputies Humphreys and O'Gorman, dangled the possibility of future investment for people who are carers and people with disabilities. A referendum or a constitutional amendment was not needed to be able to provide more resources and better systems for carers and people with disabilities. All that is needed is political will. Many people will find it cynical that after the referendums, the interest of the Government in this has completely evaporated.

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