Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 4 November 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters

Aligning Disability Services with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Discussion (Resumed)

Photo of Seán CanneySeán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the witnesses for their forthright deliberations to us. I will cut to the chase. The autism Bill which James Reilly had brought in and passed in the Seanad was left in abeyance because the Dáil fell. I took the decision to bring it back into the Dáil, which we did. We have given a lifeline to the Government, in the sense we have given it time to come up with its strategy. We intend to bring the Bill forward for Second Stage this time next year. There are significant issues with the language in the Bill presented by James Reilly. We are seeing a huge number of amendments in consultation with the witnesses, including AsIAm, Autism Ireland and all the other groups, to make sure the Bill is fit for purpose and reflects what we are trying to do, which is give a legislative underpinning to autism in Ireland. Let us get it right.

I keep repeating this and I will say it again. As a public representative, I see many things in my work. However, as a politician, I am not proud of how we deal with disabilities in total and how we deal with people who have disabilities and their families. Mr. McLoughlin talked about the future and planning for it. The biggest concern I get from every parent, no matter what age he or she is, is what happens when he or she is not there. We have to urgently address it to make sure parents have at least some comfort to know there is a plan.

From my work on this committee with my colleagues, it is clear that providing personalised budgets is essential. There should be a full Ministry for disabilities with its own budget. In 2016, when the Government was formed, my colleague at the time, Finian McGrath, became the Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities and there was great hope. However, he told me he would have a fight with the Department of Health at the time of every budget to try to secure money from it to do the things he wanted to do. He was very committed to it. I do not doubt the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, will have the same challenges. No matter what Department one is in, if one is a subsection of it, one is subservient and has to take what one can get at times.

Too many things are left to chance and to organisations such as those represented by the witnesses. At the end of the day, too much is left to parents without any back-up. It does not matter what it is. It is wrong and we have to put it right. This committee has a responsibility to take on what the witnesses are saying and that they, as people involved in disabilities, autism and the future, have to part of the solution. Their solutions have to be brought into the solutions required and they must not be dictated to by politicians or the public service or Civil Service who think something is best for the witnesses.

I come across many issues in child services, early intervention and all that type of thing. There is a willingness among all political parties and politicians to do something about it. This committee probably has a responsibility we have to grasp to make sure that goodwill is transformed into what is needed. I look forward to bringing forward some proposals and measurements over the coming months in order that everybody will be able to participate in getting solutions. It can be hard for a parent to talk about his or her experiences. It is very brave and I thank the witnesses for doing so in a public way. I do not have any questions. I offer my genuine support, which is not just political rhetoric. Everybody on the committee feels the same way. That is what we have to do.

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