Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Kelleher for tabling this motion. It is a vital motion on one of the most important days of the year, as we face the budget. We want to highlight the issue of disability and ensure no further cuts are inflicted on the sector. Everyone who has spoken has mentioned their care for and concern about people with disabilities. As we talk about the person with the disability, often the language we use forgets those people are individuals. We want to make sure there are no cuts in respite care for them, and that no services are cut.

Every Deputy has been visited by families who have told how respite has been withdrawn, particularly during the summer and during the holiday period we face now. Families of people with disabilities are at breaking point, trying to cope as best they can.

Funding was increased dramatically over recent years, particularly going back to 1997, when the first envelop of money was provided under Brian Cowen when he was Minister for Health. There was a sense we were streamlining a mechanism to ensure funding went straight to the people with disabilities. Services, however, have grown and the services that have grown up are legitimately required; there are no frills here, they are genuinely necessary.

Families are still coming to me because of the cuts in the last budget. Some of the service providers took those cuts on the chin and absorbed them into their systems but they will not be able to do that again. There is a constant line that there are inefficiencies in the system but if the Minister has evidence from the review published this year that there are inefficiencies in some of the systems, he should go after those and pinpoint them so savings can be made. There are service providers, however, who are working on a very tight budget and there is a huge amount of voluntary fund raising done to provide those services on an ongoing basis. Those involved have pared back their activities to provide the most efficient services possible.

We must all accept this is one of the most important sectors of society, made up of the most vulnerable. Those with disabilities and their families are hugely constrained but there have been huge advances in therapies that have had a positive impact on people. We must make sure today and every other day that there are no further cuts because the service will deteriorate as a result.

The cut in respite care and facilities during the summer months and as we face into Christmas is a huge issue. Families that have been applying for carers' allowance have had to wait up to 12 months and that is unacceptable. I would ask the Government to ensure whatever decisions are taken today, and we all understand tough decisions must be taken, this sector, those with disabilities, be they children or adults, are valued as human beings and they have the best possible services available to them.

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