Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is not over the top to ask the Minister the reason such cruel cuts to disability services were contemplated in the first instance. Why did the Minister sign off on the cuts which were announced on 30 August? He is hardly suggesting he was not aware of the announcement given that he, as he indicated, a hands-on Minister who took responsibility and accountability back to his office from the former chief executive officer of the Health Service Executive.

A U-turn had to be done on this issue, for which credit must go to the people with disabilities and their personal assistants who held an overnight protest outside Government Buildings. They deserve commendation for their actions. What of home help hours and home care packages? Was it a case of who got to the gates of Government Buildings first? It must be accepted, following the row-back on the measures relating to personal assistants amounting to some €10 million in cuts, that the same approach must be adopted in respect of home help hours and home care packages, which account for €12.5 million of €130 million in cuts that were announced. Will the Minister take this opportunity to announce the reversal of these cuts, which will have serious consequences for many people who are dependent on services and are already creating enormous stress in the lives of people who do not know what lies ahead for them? The people in question do not deserve this.

See this speech in context