Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Members from all parties who have contributed to the debate. I particularly thank members of the Technical Group who strongly supported the motion. I listened carefully to the contributions but I also listened carefully to Government Deputies who misrepresented sections of our motion. I will go through those later and respond to the Minister of State.

The motion is about the rights of the disabled as citizens of the State. It is about supporting these people. They were attacked and treated very badly in recent months. Only this morning, following yesterday's debate, I received two letters from parents of children with an intellectual disability. One said:

My daughter has Down's syndrome. You may or may not be aware that currently she will not automatically be entitled to resources in mainstream education. This is because Down's syndrome is not categorised as a low incidence disability. My daughter is a wonderful, bright, curious little girl. She has a right to equal education which supports her reaching her full potential. Please help us achieve that for her and all children with Down's syndrome.

That is just one letter relating to this debate which arrived this morning. Yesterday, I was contacted by a factory worker who is looking after his disabled wife. Their application for carer's allowance was turned down. Instead of turning down the application by this man, who supports his very disabled wife, we should be giving him a gold medal and doing our best to support him. The Government has cut the respite care grant by a measly €325. Some of my colleagues spoke about the hundreds of millions, if not billions, of euro being wasted, yet we impose this cut on families where someone has a disability. These are real people and they are citizens with rights. They deserve support and respect in this debate.

Last night, we heard a lecture from the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, on listening. She was agonising about the issue. People with disabilities have spoken but the Government is not acting on what they have said. They now want delivery rather than being listened to while the services and supports they rely on are being demolished.

Regarding the national disability strategy, the Minister of State talked about listening exercises. A number of her colleagues also spoke about the importance of listening. Let us get down to reality. First, the programme for Government contains a commitment to an implementation plan. We still do not have it in the third year of the Administration. Second, a three year plan was to have commenced in 2013. The previous Government had undertaken significant planning work at official level to prepare the plan. The national disability strategy implementation group was not established until November 2011, at which point the Minister of State said it would take six months to prepare the plan. It has not yet been published and, meanwhile, a number of further deadlines have passed. I understand the finalisation of the plan has been repeatedly delayed because some Departments have not provided their input. It seems that some Departments are not co-operating with stated Government policy. There was still no commitment to publication in last night's speech by the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch.

I am pointing out the reality for people with disabilities. We have had all the listening, all the talk and all the guff. I ask the Minister of State to implement the Government's promise and reverse the decision on the mobility allowance and grant or, alternatively, set up a proper scheme with immediate effect. I also ask the Minister of State to fulfil all the disability related promises in the programme for Government.

Last night, I mentioned figures relating to the intellectual disability sector. An extra 500 respite, day care and residential places per year for four years would wipe out the deficit. The numbers and the amount of money involved are not as significant as people claim. There is considerable potential.

I thank my colleagues for their great support. Many of the people who work with disabled people or in the disability sector appreciate the fact that we have returned this issue to the political agenda. We can discuss economies, bailing out banks and Cyprus, but we must first ensure that we deliver services of the highest international standards to our citizens, including people with disabilities.

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