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

The issue of time and resources was raised. I am coming in at the tail end of the meeting on disabilities but any time the committee would like to talk about me these issues, I would be delighted to attend.

Importantly, a number of colleagues, both in opposition and in government, have come up with new ideas because I want to be a listening Minister of State for the disabled. Even in last night's debate on the Social Welfare Bill, the Chairman raised the point of allowances for people employed as carers which is a creative idea because we have a major problem in getting staff when it comes to carers. The Chairman should think about that but that is his decision.

Like my colleagues, I commend Senator Dolan on the work he has done for a number of years on the rights of people with disabilities with his group the Disability Federation of Ireland. I have a comprehensive plan and strategy to deal with services for people with disabilities. My whole ethos will be about investing and reforming. My focus will be on the person with the disability; the services have to be person-centred. I will ensure all services are planned around the person with the disability. My ambition is to rebuild the services. We accept they have been devastated over the past seven or eight years and part of the plan is to try to reinvest, reform and develop the services. In my first six months in the job, I have met approximately 2,800 people with disabilities, their families and service providers throughout the country. By Christmas, I hope to have met everybody who works in the sector. That is just the background.

On the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Department of Health will shortly issue a statement of strategy which will outline the objectives of the policies and which will contain specific actions to enable and support people with disabilities to live independently and lead active lives in their communities. The lead responsibility for the ratification of the UN convention lies with the Department of Justice and Equality. However, the Department of Health will provide significant input into the drafting of the legislation.

The forthcoming Department of Health statement of strategy will reflect the importance placed on empowering people with disabilities to lead lives that will allow them to have greater independence and to gain access to the services they choose. The statement of strategy is coming out soon and we will include it in the latter. I will talk to the Minister, Deputy Harris, on the details of this issue.

The Senator asked that the needs and interests be considered at a senior level at all times in the Department. The answer in that regard is absolutely -100% yes. That view and the views of all people with disabilities are reflected in my meetings at the Department of Health and the HSE, and regularly at Cabinet meetings. As the Senator has told me on many occasions, disability rights and services are broader than just health. I need to focus on that. I think the Cabinet has accepted it at this stage. That is why I indicated that I will work closely with the Minister, Deputy Harris, to include the viewpoint to which I refer in the statement, which is very important.

Not only does the Department need to change radically, but so do society and political parties. I would always ask the question, "What are you doing in relation to the issue of people with disabilities?" That is very important.

The Senator also asked about personal assistant hours. We are looking very closely at this in preparing our service plan. I cannot give a specific commitment at this meeting. The provision of personal assistant hours is very important for people. We need to ensure that the people who have them get more hours. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the late Martin Naughton, a great campaigner on disability rights. He pushed for that issue for many years and he reminded me of it regularly when I took over as Minister of State. That was one of my reasons for putting him on the task force for personalised budgets. We need to deal with these issues. We are starting that process. I will do my best to include personal assistant hours in the service plan.

Of course, I have my own personal issues regarding respite places for intellectually disabled people and quality day services.

We had a few successes regarding day services this year. It is very important that people know that. We have to rebuild and invest in our services. The bottom line is that we have to ensure that every person with a physical or intellectual disability is respected as a citizen of the State and that their rights are protected. Part of that strategy will be radical reform and investment in the services to ensure that every person with a disability gets his or her rights.