Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

An opportunity to address the issue of disability on the floor of the Dáil is always welcome, even in the limited form of statements. The heading for this debate, namely, Development of the National Disability Strategy is deeply ironic. How is any real development of that strategy possible when the very services and supports that assist people with disabilities are under continual attack from this Government? As I stated recently at a rally in Ardee, it is not that the Members of the Government parties are bad, rather it is that they are pursuing bad policies. This needs to change immediately. I appeal to Government members to ensure that this is done. If I believed Government Members were bad there would be no point in my appealing to them.

Yesterday, the Psychiatric Nurses Association revealed the shocking truth in regard to the loss of front line staff in our mental health services and the terrible effects of this for people with mental illness. The point was well made by the PNA that while strategies to increase awareness of the reality and danger of suicide, to address the need for prevention and to reach out to those in danger are necessary, if there are not in place services to help people when they seek it, we are cruelly leading people up a blind alley. The same applies to disability. We can talk until the cows come home about developing the national disability strategy but if the State is failing in its duty to vindicate the basic rights and entitlements of disabled people then we are talking in a vacuum. If the services are being cut back then the strategy remains but a piece of paper which has no meaning in the lives of real people, which, sadly, is the situation presenting today.

This Government and its predecessor have talked much of moving from institutional-based care to community care across a range of sectors, including disability and mental health. However, the reality is that community-based services across the board are also under attack. Ms Deirdre Carroll of Inclusion Ireland, whom the Minister of State, Deputy Lynch knows, stated in the wake of Budget 2012:

The situation for people using services is growing increasingly bleak, as services continue to be cut, and charges are introduced in areas such as respite and transport. Given the economic situation, it unfortunately looks like this will continue, which causes massive worry and stress. "

We must ask what strategy is guiding a Government that would propose savage cuts to disability payments to young people and then withdraw them following the justifiable anger and protests of people across this country, including its own backbenchers? It is certainly not a strategy based on fairness, proper planning or the rights of people with disabilities. The HSE National Service Plan 2012 imposes a 3.7% cut on disability services. The impact of this is not yet clear as the HSE and disability organisations are still assessing how it will be implemented across the complex range of services and supports throughout the State. However, the HSE has admitted that there will be reductions in day, residential and respite services, which is evident in my constituency. I am sure other Deputies have had similar situations brought to their attention.

The Disability Federation of Ireland stated in the wake of Budget 2012 that for Government to be penny wise and pound foolish is not a sustainable way to proceed.. It also stated:

Supports and services that keep people well and able to continue to operate in the community, and with their families, are the best way to reduce demand on high cost hospital and institutional provision. Investing in this area where there are many voluntary organisations that are close to families and that are continually promoting community participation and engagement is the way to maximise outcomes for people while dampening the need for hospital and institutional interventions.....

There was a concern expressed in some quarters that the reduced cut to disability this year necessitated greater cuts to hospital services. People with disabilities also strongly rely on services provided by hospitals and don't see the issue as one against the other. In fact by maximising supports for people in the community there will be reduced demand on hospital services. The best way to assist hospitals is to work to ensure that there is less demand for their services.

We all recognise that commonsense approach. However, it appears that these basic lessons are lost on this Government. Account must also be taken of the other cuts that directly affect people with disabilities but do not come under the heading of disability, including health care, social protection, education, transport and local government services. All of these are targeting the most vulnerable in Irish society, among them people with disabilities.

I am reminded of the response some 12 months ago of the Minister of State's colleague, Deputy Burton, to Budget 2011:

There is pain for the poor, money for the rich, particularly for the bankers, and the rolling back of the State.....There is no modern example of a developed economy deflating to this extraordinary degree but claiming it can grow.....

There certainly is pain for the poor and money for the rich. The Finance Bill 2012 published yesterday reveals the Government's plan to give tax breaks to wealthy executives in what can only be described as the true tradition of the Leas-Cheann Comhairle's colleague, the infamous - or famous depending on one's point of view - former Minister Mr. Charlie McCreevy. Meanwhile, people with disabilities are anxious and uncertain about the future of their services and supports.

Sinn Féin has called for a review of the disability Act, with a view to the introduction of a new rights-based disability Act alongside a robust enforcement mechanism and the establishment of a disability ombudsman. The Minister of State, Deputy Lynch, will recall the work she, I and many other Members did on the disability Act and our strong contention that it had to be rights-based in times of economic distress, such as we are now experiencing, to protect the most vulnerable who cannot protect themselves, which certainly includes those in the disability sector.

Sinn Féin has called for over-arching responsibility for the national disability strategy to rest with the Department of the Taoiseach and for annual targets to be set for delivery by 2016. This makes eminent sense . It has also called for a major pilot study on direct payments to include individuals from across the disability spectrum. We need to define people's qualifications for personal assistance services, supporting independent living for disabled people and to regulate in law the provision of these services to ensure proper standards. These are the type of practical measures needed to make a disability strategy meaningful. I believe the Minister of State concurs with this. Implementation of the strategy thus far has been disappointing. The Disability Federation of Ireland, DFI, has also stated:

On the one hand, there is no coherent picture of how Ireland is progressing towards the agreed goals; information about what outcomes have been achieved is very sketchy. On the other hand, it has been far too easy to use the economic and fiscal crises to sidestep the NDS instead of factoring it into crisis planning.

This is what is happening in so many areas, allegedly under the umbrella of current fiscal challenges. Cuts and changes are being introduced across all sectors. One would have to question the real motivation and intention behind much of it.

There are choices to be made. As I stated earlier, this Government is following bad policies and making the wrong choices. Austerity is not and will not work. It is trampling on the rights of people, targeting the most vulnerable and storing up more pain and inequality for the future. People with disabilities have had to fight for what they have gained in recent years. I am confident that people in this sector, many of whom I have met and know, will not cave in now. As Members of this House, we have a responsibility to give expression to their anger and dismay and to echo their appeal to the Minister of State and her colleagues in Government to re-examine their approach to this sector. A fundamental change in direction is required.

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