Mr. Padraic Moran:

I thank the Deputy for the questions. The UNCRPD was mentioned. Ireland was one of the first countries to sign up to that, in 2007. We enacted part of it. I said before, at another hearing, that the Government gives people with disabilities crumbs. Part of convention was enacted but the protocol was not. Why is the protocol not enacted? It is because, if it is enacted, you have to legislate for it. If you legislate for, you have to fund it. If you do not fund it, you have Europe to answer to. That is part of the problem.

According to the last census, there are 643,131 people registered with disabilities. Given families of three, that amounts to 1.92 million votes. That is why Mr. Delaney's idea of a Parliament for the disabled is really good. What is happening in government indicates there is not enough lived experience. A couple of years ago, when Mr. Shane Ross was the Minister, Mr. Delaney suggested that people with disabilities be put on State boards. That has helped a lot because of their experience. It means there are people making decisions who understand what having a disability is like and how to improve the circumstances of people with disabilities.

It was stated that we were forgotten about during the pandemic. It is a case in point. The Deputy hoped things will change in time but I am 39 and have been hearing that since 1995. Things have got a little better but it should not take the Government so long to do things. It is not as if people with disabilities just materialised. We are here and we are people. We are not steerage. "Steerage" is a harsh word but that is how we are treated by the Government. We are not treated with the same respect as others.

Again, we go back to the fear of losing entitlements. I have a long-term illness book because I was born with cerebral palsy, and I am also asthmatic. However, because the book states that cerebral palsy is not related to asthma, I have to cover the cost of my own asthma medication. This is even though I have a long-term illness book but no medical card. Could someone please tell me who makes this up? It does not make sense.

Mr. Nelson touched on the matter of his chair. My chair also breaks, all the time. In 2019, when former Senator John Dolan was in Leinster House, my chair was approved for funding. Mr. Delaney happened to mention the matter to the Senator. He made one phone call and the funding was approved for my chair the next day. As a result of my chair breaking down so much, I got a backup chair. I got it because of pressure from Mr. Delaney, not because I asked. He was using the implements of the House. It should not be that way. We should not have to fight all the time for basic supports. It has taken me five years to get assessed for hours to live my life. This is now in process. The HSE used to say my mam could do what was required. She is 83 and should not have to do it anymore. She did her duty until I was 18. I want to be independent but I am disabled by the State because, as it is, it does not care. The Government does not care about people with disabilities. If it did, the system would be a lot better.

I have seen many countries. I have been to Beijing, Colombia and Canada. From my having been to many different countries, I note that we are so bad at doing many things, although we should be so good. We are in a position in which we have a surplus going into the next budget. A huge tranche of that should be put towards disability services and the HSE. If the Government and Opposition are serious about treating people with disabilities with respect, that needs to happen. There is no point in everyone sitting here today saying they agree things need to change; the members have to change things or each party needs to get people with disabilities on the next ballot paper. It is the only way things are going to change; otherwise we are going to keep doing this every couple of years and nothing will change.