Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

From meeting people with disabilities on an individual and organisational level I know that in recent years they have felt let down and, to some degree, isolated. This is very much because they have seen a reduction in services. They are very aware of the resource issue, and they are more aware of it and the concerns it raises than some of those who comment on the issue in the House. Many of the problems we experience are communications problems, with regard to explaining to people with disabilities and their organisations what is going on.

Much of what has happened for people with disabilities in the past decade has very much been driven by disability organisations themselves. We have a very good Minister of State in Deputy Kathleen Lynch, because she has great empathy with what is going on for people with disabilities. She is honest about what can be achieved and about what we must try to do. For this honesty to come through we must ensure that resources intended for the disability sector arrive there. In recent years many service plans drawn up by Departments are not necessarily implemented in the way we voted for them. This issue has been raised time and again. It is particularly prevalent with regard to the HSE, where funding is given for a specific service but it is not used for that service. We often find out mid-year or towards the end of the year that money has been diverted somewhere else. This must stop. If money is allocated at budget time for a specific service it must stay with this service. Ministers and Ministers of State must ensure funding stays with the service for which it is intended. Funding for disability services is significant at €1.5 billion, but with such a huge amount of State funding and a number of voluntary and State organisations involved, one can see how funding can be diverted. We must focus on ensuring what we say we will do in service plans is what we do, so we remain honest with people with disabilities and we keep their confidence and trust that we mean what we say when we try to provide services for them.

Nobody can deny that huge changes have been made over the past two decades in how people with disabilities can access services, education and work. I have seen it in my work as a doctor. We still have plenty of scope, even with limited resources available at present, to do a hell of a lot more. The Government is very much focused on rights-based services. We are not only trying to build this for the duration of the Government, but we are trying to hardwire it into the thinking of everyone involved in implementing legislation and policy. This needs to remain our focus.

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