Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I thank them for coming in and thank those in the gallery for coming in as well.

First, I can fairly say that the committee is dealing here with members who are completely sympathetic to Mr. McCabe's view on this and its objectives in safeguarding the grants and allowances. The big question we need to discuss is how we will do that, given the current situation, and what is Mr. McCabe's view about how we can do it.

The Government's position, as I see it, is to say that it wants to safeguard the resources necessary to provide those with disabilities with the existing allowances and grants but, because of this legal situation, it can no longer do it anymore and if it simply opens up the scheme to all those who would be entitled to it, it would cost the State more. There are questions as to whether the Government is grossly exaggerating how much more it would cost or has it any basis for making these assumptions. Those are legitimate queries and questions that we should be asking. However, nobody can fully answer that. It is possible it will cost more, perhaps not as much as the Government says.

Against that background, I would like to know the centre's attitude to that. I know my attitude. This is what I am trying to get at here. My attitude is very simple, that those with a disability have a right to these allowances and anybody who has disabilities who requires this allowance or grant, whether over 66, under 66, only needing it only in their latter years or have needed it all of their lives, as far as I am concerned, should have it. The scheme should be opened up and the State should find the funding.

If the Government says it has not got the funding, I say the Government has it for the bondholders, the rich or whatever. That is my attitude. I wonder whether that is Mr. McCabe's attitude. That is one way of approaching the problem, by simply saying we demand the resources, they should be provided as there is a right and entitlement to them. Finding the resources is the Government's problem. The alternative approach is to accept the Government line that it wants to give the allowance to the existing recipients but it does not have any more than €10.9 million, and on that basis, work out a solution with the Government around how that €10.9 million continues to go to those who currently get it. I wonder what is Mr. McCabe's attitude to that conundrum.