Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to say a few words on the Citizens Information Bill 2006, as it is one of the major strands of the national disability strategy. It is meant to establish a personal advocacy service, operated by the Citizens Information Board, to assist people with disabilities in accessing health and social services. It will support in particular groups such as the National Disability Authority, NDA, and Inclusion Ireland. It is clear that advocacy services for people with disabilities are underdeveloped in Ireland. Those providing services, including community volunteers are becoming increasingly aware of the need for more services. The 2004 Comhairle report, Developing an Advocacy Service for People, showed that Ireland still has a significant population of people with disabilities resident in institutions. Perhaps this Bill will create a greater awareness of that.

An independent advocacy service is essential if people with disabilities are to be fully included in the process of service provision. This was discussed during the debate on the disabilities Act. This will give people with disabilities, who may be unable to seek services for the themselves, an opportunity to put forward their views and requests on the range of services they receive. In this regard, the definition of social service as outlined in the Bill, is to be welcomed.

The whole issue is certainly important, but it must be made clear where the services are to be based and who will benefit. I think about a young neighbour of mine with cerebral palsy; while there are excellent services for someone like this in Dublin, the problem lies in getting there. Once there, the person will receive all the necessary help to get back to the bus, train or whatever. It is all right if someone has the finance or wherewithal to travel to these centres but it is important to emphasise that although the service may be based in Dublin, it should be available for all. Another issue concerns the fact that the service must be applied for by each individual in writing. We must realise that some people cannot do this for themselves and therefore they must receive all the support and advice that is available. We must ensure that everyone entitled to services derives benefit from them.

In the last few days we have heard a good deal not just about the disabled, but also the elderly. I cannot help thinking about the Leas Cross situation and, unfortunately, others. I wonder how matters will be dealt with or whether the advocacy service in years to come will be the subject of ministerial excuses, as at present, with regard to systems failure. That term absolutely frightens me, because we have seen what happened at Leas Cross through the "Prime Time" programme and the information that has come out since. Nobody is being held responsible. Nobody is facing any career handicap as a result, in terms of finance, change of post or whatever. As someone from a farming background, I find this impossible to understand. If we are to treat the issue of disability, the elderly and all that in an even-handed manner, we must ensure that those in charge are held responsible and, if they are not doing their job, treated accordingly.

I met a farmer today from County Monaghan, who has a disability. He was not fit to fill in the forms for himself. He was dependent on the advisory service set up by this State to look after him. When forms arrive late it is he who suffers, not the Teagasc adviser or that organisation. I had another case, last week, of a widow in a similar situation. She has received her bill for €3,300, but is not getting any funds. I raise these matters in the light of this issue of "systems failure". It is much too simple a phrase, and much too serious when we are dealing with the elderly and disabled. I want to ensure that when this Bill goes through the House, that Deputy Brennan, as the Minister in charge, will ensure we are not back here in two or three years time or whatever, talking about some disabled person who has fallen through the cracks because of systems failure. That to me is extremely important.

We must also have a safe service. Only last Thursday the Oireachtas Members from my constituency, which of course includes the Ceann Comhairle, met the Minister for Health and Children, along with all the councillors for the area. We had to listen for two hours to talk about safe systems. It all depends on one's viewpoint. We have seen 17 deaths as the result of safety failure in the services being provided for disabled and older people in particular. I am thinking of one family who lives 500 m from Monaghan General Hospital, a father, a mother and a disabled daughter. The father got a heart attack and died on his way to Cavan hospital, leaving his ill wife and his handicapped daughter. The Almighty has been good, taking all three of them in a short period. Who decides what is safe and what is not? We must ensure people feel safe when systems such as this are introduced.

Care of the disabled is important in respect of this Bill. As a former member of the Joint Committee on Social and Family Affairs, I discussed this situation at length, but problems continue. I recently encountered an aged person to whom a carer's allowance was not made available because the doctor could not fill in the right boxes to demonstrate need for full-time care. There is no way anyone would allow the person to remain in the house alone. We need a common-sense approach, ensuring the maximum number of people, whether elderly or disabled, remain in their homes for as long as possible.

At some time during his brief appearance in the House the Taoiseach referred to the threefold increase in the home care packages. While this is not directly under the control of the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, it is connected to the care of the elderly and the disabled. We find the situation totally different on the ground. As Oireachtas Members we receive more representations about securing care for elderly people than any other issue. People only realise the complications when confronted with sickness or disability. There is system failure in the case of someone with an amputated leg who received 12 hours of home help in Donegal and who experienced a reduction to two hours of home help when he moved to Carrickmacross, County Monaghan. It took me a long time to trace this case to discover whether the person was on the register.

If this Bill is to be successful, proper use must be made of the home help and home care systems. Great people are undertaking great work but they are curtailed by lack of funding or understanding from more senior people. The personnel in the Department will be surprised if I do not mention the carer's allowance and the method of payment. Over past years, including the era of the Celtic tiger, we have failed to provide a structure whereby an old age pensioner or a widow can receive carer's allowance. This is crazy. If the person is in receipt of a contributory widow or widower's pension, he or she can work full time and it will not affect the pension. However, if the person is capable of caring for a parent or disabled child in the home, the person is only entitled to one social welfare payment. If I can persuade the Minister to re-examine this situation in advance of the budget, I may have done someone some good.

If one is caring for two people, he or she can claim 100% of the carer's allowance for one person and 50% for the other. Can we not ensure that if one is caring for one person and in receipt of a contributory or non-contributory social welfare payment, one is entitled to at least 50% of a carer's pension for keeping someone out of a retirement home? Achieving this would be a job well done and would be recognition of the job carers are doing.

I wish to raise another matter that is not relevant to this Bill but which concerns citizenship. Some months ago I came across a couple who have lived in Ireland for seven years. They are entitled to citizenship, which is important to them. The man is a labourer in a local factory, the woman is a part-time carer attached to Monaghan General Hospital and they have three children attending university. The couple must pay €7,500 in fees because the application for citizenship has not been processed. The fees do not include maintenance costs. The Taoiseach states that we should not compare ourselves to others but if these people lived in Northern Ireland or Britain, the application would have been processed in five to seven months. They see the comparative disadvantage in Ireland. They wish to remain in Ireland, having established it as their home. I will raise this matter with the Minister's colleagues and have already written to some of them. It is a serious disadvantage.

I could have said much more if I had time to study the Bill at length. I welcome the provision whereby the social welfare appeals office and the Ombudsman will play a role. The social welfare appeals office is useful in other cases. Problems still exist for disabled people. There has been an increase in funding but in my home area there is a major problem with respite. The amount of respite space is limited.

It is good when parents are lucky enough to receive €1,250, or whatever the sum is now, as a respite grant towards relief from being carers. However, if they are to get away for a break of a week, ten days or a fortnight from looking after a disabled person, it is extremely important for them to have somewhere they can trust and where they know the person will be safe and cared for. In the main, a single unit in Cootehill caters for counties Cavan and Monaghan. I urge that this area be looked after very seriously. Most families today want to look after their handicapped members at home. That said, the north Monaghan carers group has done a tremendous job. It has now established nine or ten home units, each housing five or six people. This is fantastic and at least people who are approaching the end of their days know that their loved ones have somewhere to go and be cared for.

I have spoken to Mr. Dan Grogan about this and he has asked me publicly a number of times to try to see whether, through the health boards or some other means, an effort can be made to ensure that sufficient respite places are available. He has informed me that up to 70 families require respite to be able to take some holidays. Obviously, if the beds were allocated over a period, that number of bed spaces would not be required. However, it gives some indication of the scale of the problem in one part of a single constituency. The Minister should examine this issue seriously.

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