John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

I will be very brief. I want to speak mostly about the disability allowance. I read in a newspaper today some of Deputy Ray Butler's statement with regard to intervening with Fine Gael Deputies to be the conscience of the Labour Party on this issue. I wish to declare an interest as I have a daughter who has been confined to a wheelchair since birth. I am very much aware of the difficulties of people with disabilities. Nine or ten of her friends who are now aged 26 or 27 are regular visitors to my house and depend very much on the disability allowance to survive. We must take into account that many people suffering from spina bifida, Down's syndrome or MS will probably never be able to work. Some of them would like to work and others find it very difficult to get work in the current climate. The social welfare payment they receive is minuscule as it is but they must fight for every benefit they receive.

It is important to recognise the extra costs these people have. Perhaps in my circumstances - seeing that everybody says those of us in the House are well paid - I can afford to give my daughter extra money. However, the parents of many of those who visit my house are unemployed and in receipt of social welfare. They are certainly not in a position to help a child with a disability in any way, shape or form. People with a disability have extra costs for food and for taxis because many of them are unable to drive.

We have come a long way from the situation we had in the 1980s and 1990s. I remember when these children were in primary school in Enniscorthy they had no special needs assistant, SNA. The first SNA they had was in the vocational college in Enniscorthy when four students shared one SNA and they were very happy with that. It is very important that we do not undermine the quality of life for people with disabilities. It is not good enough for the Taoiseach to state it was put on pause. One cannot put people with disabilities on pause.

I welcome that some changes have been brought about but it is very important that full payment is restored to people from 16 years of age. I welcome that Deputy Ray Butler intervened with Fine Gael and the Minister, Deputy Noonan, and changes were made.

I want to put on record my abhorrence of any reduction in payments to people with disabilities. We should be trying to increase payments to them, but this is not possible in the present climate. I ask the Labour Party and Fine Gael, which are the parties in government, to ensure the suggestion by the Minister, Deputy Joan Burton, is put to bed once and for all, to ensure that the payments now being made to people with disabilities will continue, and to ensure that they at least have a reasonable standard of living and that their payments will not be cut any further following the review. I do not believe there is a need for a review. The only review that should be carried out is to restore full payments to people suffering from disabilities who need the money to survive in the present climate.

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