John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

There is something deeply reprehensible about what is happening to disabled people in the country. They have sustained a fundamental attack on their quality of life over the past two years. Their disability allowance has been cut as have their home help hours and the number of personal assistants. The domiciliary care allowance has been targeted along with funding therapies for people with disabilities. The respite care grant was cut in the most recent budget.

I know 128 people with disabilities who also have the mobility allowance. As with thousands of people throughout the country, they are deeply fearful about what will happen to their allowance at the end of June. Having spoken to groups throughout the country this is fast becoming a human rights issue.

I understand the working group appointed by the Department of Health on the mobility grants issue has completed an interim report and is examining the best use of the allowance moneys. I am told the Department of Health has received a memo for other Departments to consider how best to feed back into the interim report. This will come to the Government for consideration, I am told reliably, at next week's Cabinet meeting. Will the Tánaiste confirm whether the recent Department of Health consultation on the mobility allowance has concluded and whether he has read the memo and seen the interim report?

The final payment under the current scheme falls due at the end of June so a Government decision on this issue is imminent. Will the Tánaiste confirm whether the project group has recommended a solution on this issue and whether these recommendations will be implemented before the end of June in time for the existing scheme? Will the Tánaiste confirm whether representatives of all the disabled citizens' groups were consulted by the review group? My information is they were not. Does the Tánaiste not think it is essential the voices of people with disabilities are heard in this process?

The cumulative effect of cuts to allowances in services for disabled people is leaving people throughout the country disillusioned, marginalised and ghettoised. The cost-cutting measures have radically changed how disabled persons integrate into society. The decision on the allowance will be made in a few weeks time. Thousands of people throughout the country are concerned, disillusioned and disenfranchised and so are their families. We need clarity on this now and not in the week the allowance is due when it may very well be cut. We need to give people one month's notice at least on what will happen to the €10.8 million, a relatively small sum of money, provided for those in society who are less well off and disenfranchised and who, with their families, bear a burden which very many of us will never have to bear. We need clarity on this issue today.

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