John Dolan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the committee for making it possible to have this omnibus review of where we are at this time. I thank the Minister of State, his officials and the NDA for being here to assist us in that regard.

It is hard to know where start as so many interesting points made been made. I have a copy of a brief submission made by Inclusion Ireland on issues such as assisted decision-making -I did not like what I heard about that - personal budgets, the working group and a number of other issues, some of which have been dealt with. I ask the committee to provide the Minister of State with a copy of the submission for consideration.

I welcome the representatives of Inclusion Ireland who are in the Public Gallery and who also yesterday attended a meeting of the Joint Committee on Health as part of the Oireachtas disabilities group. I thank the Chairman for the leadership he provided to that group as its vice-chairman. This group comprises four organisations: the Disability Federation of Ireland, DFI, Inclusion Ireland, the Federation of Voluntary Bodies and Not for Profit Association. It has called for a five-year multi-annual investment in the disabilities sector. As mentioned by Deputy Jack Chambers, rights should drive what happens in every Department. This sector cuts across a range of Departments. The group has called for north of €200 million per annum for the disabilities sector, not to solve all the problems but to ensure a decent kick-start following ratification of the convention earlier this year on 19 April, which the Minister of State said earlier "will help, hopefully". I do not take a lot of comfort from "will help, hopefully". I understand that Ireland via the Houses of the Oireachtas has given its solemn commitment to implementation of the convention throughout our system, in education, housing, transport, communications, health, social protection and so on.

In fairness to the Minister of State he was strong in his opening remarks about the chronic unemployment rate among people with disabilities, which is damning. We experienced similar unemployment levels in this sector ten years ago when Ireland was sucking people in from other parts of the world to fill employment gaps. What new initiatives are planned to ensure the comprehensive employment strategy works? This strategy is almost three years in existence. On 2 October this year, three of its ten years will have elapsed. What initiatives are in place to drive it? The Minister of State will rightly point to the increase from 3% to 6% in the number of people with disabilities in the public sector. It we can leverage activation and employment it will be a game changer.

I welcome the recent initiative proposed at the joint meeting of the Joint Committees on Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Health and Education and Skills to look in the round at the interlocking issues between Departments. We heard testimony during that hearing for approximately one and a half hours from six people with disabilities, all of whom said they were "lucky" to get a start. Strategies and governance are not about luck; they are about making something happen. For every person with a disability who was lucky, there are thousands who were not.

There is an ongoing crisis in respite care. To put it mildly, doing something about respite provision would be modest and it does not speak to the spirit of the UN convention. Yesterday, Deputy Ó Caoláin, Senator Conway and I listened to the story of a woman who has been up to her neck caring for a child for the past 35 years and who said: "I want my life back." We focus on the rights of people with disabilities but there are other people whose rights and basic dignity are being infringed by being locked into caring roles. There is a great deal at stake in the implementation of the convention. The Minister of State is well aware of the issues. I have perhaps worn him out talking about personal assistant supports to enable people to get out and about. What will be provided for in the budget on respite care will be sold to us as substantive. However, the circumstances are chronic for the people who are stuck but there has not been a substantive response post-19 April.

I welcome the Ability programme. The CRC has two schools in Dublin and there are many other special schools in the country. However, there is no career guidance in these schools because they are regarded as primary schools. These schools should be provided with funding to enable them to provide career guidance and thus marshal people and get them thinking about progression. This issue could be taken up by the Department of Education and Skills. Under the Ability programme, these schools are currently addressing issues such as human rights awareness and understanding. It is an excellent initiative.

The Minister of State referenced the additional funding being invested in disability services every year. What annoys me and others is that we are never shown the balance sheet. We hear constantly that more money is being invested, which nobody denies, but we are never told how the need for funding is changing. We are never told if need is increasing or decreasing. We all know it is increasing. Thankfully, babies are being born that would not have survived ten years ago. Thirty years ago a child with Down's syndrome lived to only 30 or 35 years of age. That was the expectation of their parents from day one. Nowadays, these people are living into their 50s and 60s, although some have other issues. We are pumping out the flooded house but water is still coming in. If is important that across government people are as honest as they can be and admit that while additional funding is being provided they are hard pressed to keep up with the accelerating need.

I thank the Minister of State for mentioning the 1,200 young people who are in nursing homes. There are also 2,500 people in congregated settings, with up to 170 people still trying to exit these settings every year. This process was supposed to be concluded this year. At the same time, there are people who are younger than most people in this room going into nursing homes for 30, 40 and 50 years. Honesty is vital.

The Minister of State spoke about awareness in the community and among employers. My sense is that there is not enough leadership at the top. He is working night and day, might and mane to ensure there is focus on getting critical Bills enacted and securing additional funding for disability services.

I am left with a question. The Government as an entity does not get it. I refer to cultural change. The Minister of State spoke of the man in Drogheda who saw something, responded to it and his instinct was right. We see that around the place. I do not, however, see that instinct in our Government. More money must be into the disability sector.

Between 40 and 50 polling stations were not accessible to people with disabilities during the recent referendum. That is just one example, which requires an amendment to the Electoral Acts. I would be happy if we were implementing some of the Acts in place. It was like pulling teeth to introduce the change to allow blind people to vote. This was a basic measure but it is only guaranteed for referenda. It was resisted tooth and nail by a Department for many years before Mr. Robbie Sinnott pulled it out of their heads. He did it doggedly and was threatened that the State would go after him.

The attitude that we cannot do this, because it would cost money remains. This is not a criticism of the Minister of State but he sits at the Cabinet table. We will not, in fairness, be dependent only on him to do this work; we will work on it as well. This will be the third budget of this Administration and it has to demonstrate improvement in a range of areas in people's lives such as transport housing, education, employment, communications, and income supports. It cannot just be about specialist disability services, although God knows there are problems there. We will walk past the window of this budget the day after and people with disabilities will have to see that an effort was made in and there was thoughtfulness across a range of Departments. That is moving away from the tight text of the presentation of the Minister of State but it is connected. Was 19 April a game changer for the Government and the Oireachtas? There is challenge for all of us to see that reflected in the budget in early October. I refer also to assisted decision-making, deprivation of liberty, the Disability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, and so on, being done and dusted by the end of this year. There is an issue with timelines.

Turning to the National Disability Inclusion Strategy 2017-2021 published in mid-July 2017, states, "Progress the Disability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill so as to enactment to address outstanding obstacles to ratification". The Department of Justice and Equality timeline was 2017. In the middle of July, with five and half months to go to the end of 2017, there was a commitment that it would be done by then. It bothers me that commitments are made close to when they are due. Time passes and they are still swinging in the wind. There are issues there. I thank the Minister of State for the work he does but the Government needs to reinvigorate he significance of 19 April.