Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In 2012, we as a Government and a State spent €1.4 billion on people with disabilities. This debate is about people with disabilities and their families. It is not always about money, but it is about how we allocate resources while respecting the rights and needs of service users and people with disabilities, which is what this motion should be about. It is cynical of Fianna Fáil to table this motion, given its record in government for 14 years.

The programme for Government in its content and delivery is strong in its commitment to people with disabilities. I commend the Minister of State with responsibility for disability services, Deputy Kathleen Lynch. Due to her knowledge, experience and leadership of the Department in this regard, we will see reform, a continuum of change and an evolution of policy that will have at its core people with disabilities. In everything we try to do in politics and in government, it is important to keep service users at the core. It is a question of their needs. It is also important that we listen to and engage with people with disabilities. I welcome the fact that, in the delivery of the value for money report and the policy review of disability services, the Minister of State will engage with people.

With many of my colleagues, I spoke with members of the COPE Foundation about its pre-budget submission. To give the Minister of State, Deputy White, a flavour, the COPE Foundation is a service provider in Cork that deals with 2,150 people. The quality and quantity of its services, the evolution of its facilities and the continuum of care provided by it are extraordinary. In a five-year period, it has seen a reduction in its budget and an increase in the number of people availing of its service from 1,700 to 2,150. Despite having €4.5 million less and a reduction in staff numbers, the COPE Foundation continues to provide an excellent service to people who need it. This shows that we can make a change.

In supporting what the COPE Foundation has done and is doing, we must consider value for money. If our assertion is that more must be done with less, the COPE Foundation has done that. The main issue is that, as 85% of its budget relates to pay and cannot be touched because of the Croke Park deal, it must find savings from the 15% of its budget that involves transport, energy, food, medicines and maintenance. This will impact on those who require its services and their families. If one views the COPE Foundation as an example of what is occurring across the country, one must recognise that significant challenges are being met.

In the value for money report on and policy review of disability services, we must protect and support organisations such as the COPE Foundation that live within budget, provide extra services and, as the COPE Foundation does, facilitate and cater for people with disabilities, be they early school leavers or people involved in crisis situations. The COPE Foundation is an example of an organisation that has seen no closures, no changes, no charges and no deficits. It must be looked after, as it is the benchmark for value for money, good management and providing for families and service users.

In the minute that is left to me, I will refer to Our Lady of Good Counsel School in Ballincollig where families are concerned about changes to therapy interventions and the impact of same on the children who need them. The people with whom I have spoken would like to know whether there will be a service and whether the changes will impact on their children severely.

In this debate on disability, parents need to know that there will be a service, that access will not be a problem and that provision will be made to have their opinions listened to. They must plan. Disability is from the cradle to the grave and affects people who need all of our care.

I commend the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, on her work. I also commend the programme for Government. This issue is about people and delivering a continuum of care like the COPE Foundation's model, which has the person with a disability at the core.

See this speech in context