John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his reply but it is the usual waffle from the Department and jargon from officials within it. As I said, this concerns 5,000 people and if one divides that into the 41 constituencies, one is talking about 100 people per constituency. Obviously, they are not important. They have no voice and the Minister has decided to cut their funding but now he says they have a right to appeal. Surely there should have been a lead-in time so that funding could have remained in situuntil the appeal was heard but instead the funding was cut straightaway.

The Government and the Minister should be ashamed of themselves that they would allow the withdrawal of funding from the deaf to go ahead. Why does this Government always go after the most vulnerable groups in our society - the old, people with disabilities, the sick and, in particular, the deaf community which has no voice? It is important the Minister of State reflects on this, goes back to his Department and discusses with the Minister, Deputy Hogan, the serious implications it will have for deaf people in the community. As Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan said, we have wonderful facilities in Dublin for the deaf and the blind. As the Minister of State will know, most rural people who suffer from blindness or deafness travel to Dublin to avail of the facilities. It is very important this decision is reversed and that the funding is made available as quickly as possible to allow this advocacy service to continue. It is the only service there for the deaf and it is important that this decision is reversed without any further delay.

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