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

I have tabled this motion to highlight the urgent need to protect the rights of people with disabilities as citizens of this State and to propose sensible solutions to the difficulties being experienced in providing quality services to all people with disabilities. This motion, which contains a new and radical proposal to "appoint a senior Minister with a dedicated responsibility for disability inclusion", speaks for itself. It is about equality and inclusion. It highlights the disconnect between the Government and broader society. We saw a classic example of this in recent days, when a request made by the Irish Deaf Society and Senator Mark Daly that an Irish Sign Language interpreter be made available in the Dáil was refused. Senator Daly had written to the Ceann Comhairle on behalf of the society, requesting that an Irish Sign Language interpreter be in place to facilitate members of the deaf community who will be present in the Visitors Gallery for Question Time this Thursday, but that request was refused.

I will give another example of exclusion and the lack of equality in Irish society. The Irish Deaf Society's national advocacy service for deaf people was forced to close its office, with a full loss of staff, after the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government announced that funding was to be discontinued. It is estimated that 5,000 people will be affected by this announcement, which has brought a halt to 11 years of service provision to the deaf population of Ireland.

I would like to develop further the proposal in the motion that a senior Minister should be responsible for people with disabilities. I do not care who that person is, as long as he or she can focus on the issue. We know from the most recent census that 595,355 people, or 13% of the population, have a disability. I remind the House that a full-time senior Minister is responsible for the approximately 120,000 farmers who are involved in the rural agriculture industry. Similarly, a full-time Minister is responsible for between 50,000 and 60,000 teachers who work in our education service. In that context, it is valid to mention that more than 595,000 people are living with disabilities but do not have a full-time Minister. The Government missed a glorious opportunity to deal with this issue in the recent reshuffle. I appreciate that the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, deals with disability in her Department but I would like a more prominent role to be given to a senior Minister as well.

I wish to pay tribute to all the voluntary groups that work with and campaign for people with disabilities all the time. I welcome Mr. John Dolan of the Disability Federation of Ireland to the Gallery. I thank such people for all the work they do for people with disabilities. I would also like to thank another important group that provides a great service. I refer to the parents, families and friends of people with disabilities, who often comprise the backbone of the disability service through the work they do with their friends, their children and the adults in their families. I pay tribute to them and thank them for doing a service for people with disabilities.

What does it mean to have a disability in the Ireland of 2014? As I said earlier, over 595,000 people have a disability, according to the most recent census. At least one in ten adults of working age - between the ages of 15 and 64 - has a disability. It is clear that disability increases sharply with age. Just 5.4% of those under the age of 15 have a disability, whereas 38% of those over the age of 65 fall into this category.

People with disabilities face difficulties and delays in accessing supports and services. Three quarters of people who use disability services are not satisfied with the level of control they have over their lives. This is something we have to tackle. Approximately 48% of disability service users are very dissatisfied with the quality of the services being provided. Some 13,655 applications for disability allowance were turned down in 2013. That represents a refusal rate of 55%. I understand that 58% of appeals in these cases were later accepted. Almost 4,000 people with disabilities were in need of social housing last year. At the end of last year, more than 32,000 children remained on waiting lists for speech and language assessments and interventions. In 2013, some 15,813 people were waiting for an assessment by an occupational therapist. Approximately 2,500 of them, including approximately 1,900 children, had been waiting for more than a year.

As I mentioned earlier, people with disabilities experience high levels of poverty. Families where the head of the household is not at work due to illness or disability had the lowest level of annual disposable income - an average of €21,492 - in 2012. This represents a decrease of 11.4% since 2010. Individuals who are not at work due to illness or disability endure some of the highest levels of consistent poverty. The level in question - 17.6% - overshadows the national average of 7.7%. Some 48.5% of those who are not at work due to illness or disability are at risk of deprivation. This is in contrast to the national average of 26.9%. Such people struggle with the cost of adequate clothing and heating. They cannot afford to eat a meal with meat or fish more frequently than every second day.

I raise these facts because this is the Ireland of 2014 and this is the reality for many families of people with disabilities. I would like to bring a more human touch to this debate by reading from a letter I was sent by a parent during the week in relation to a particular service:

I am a parent of a child who attends St Michael's Special National School in Baldoyle. I am shocked and dismayed at the news that there will be a further cut to teaching staff and to the number of Special Needs Assistants in this school. As I am sure you are aware, this school lost a teacher the last 3 years in a row. I would like to make you aware that the standard ratio of 1 teacher to 6 pupils (SERC Report, 1993) is absolutely not appropriate for children in this school. Children who attend this school not only have severe to profound intellectual disabilities but many are also severely physically disabled and have other highly complex needs. Much of the school day is taken up with personal care such as peg feeding (tube feeding), toileting, dealing with seizures, hoisting, ensuring the safety of the mobile children, and dealing with various medical issues. This takes up most, if not all of the SNA's time. As a result, the teachers are trying to teach our children in groups. As you surely must be aware, these severely and profoundly disabled children ideally require one to one tuition.

That is a letter from a parent using a service in St. Michael's House, Baldoyle, in my constituency, which is an excellent service. The final paragraph states:

I am asking you to please reconsider this appalling decision regarding the loss of a teacher and special needs assistants. Failing this, can you please outline how you intend to maintain both the health and safety and education standards in the school?

She sent this letter to the Minister for Education and Skills as well. That is just one example of a family with severely disabled children, physically and intellectually.

I turn now to the people with an intellectual disability. A total of 27,256 people with intellectual disability, representing 99% of the total population registered on the NIDD, were in receipt of services. That was the highest number of people in receipt of services since the database was established. The following services will be needed for the period 2013 to 2017. With regard to day care services, when we look at the figures we see there is potential to sort this area. A total of 197 people require a new day service, that is, they are currently without a day service and require one. Surely that is one we can fix. The second figure is more broad but I am referring to the period from 2013 to 2017. These are figures from the Minister's Department. A total of 10,304 day places will require changes or enhancements.

Regarding residential services, 2,271 full-time people who are without residential placements require one in the next five years. Most need is immediate. A total of 2,711 residential places will require changes or enhancements, for example, a person in a residential centre who requires a move to a community group home setting. That is in the residential area.

In the respite services, 2,054 require residential support services for the first time. A total of 1,637 residential support places will require changes or enhancements, generally increased hours of support.

If some of these figures applied to one year, we would say they are very high, but when we look at it over a four or five-year plan, there is huge potential to act. I emphasise the day care services and when we see figures such as 197 people, that is an issue that can be solved.

I mentioned the Irish Deaf Society that took a severe cut in recent days. It is very important we do not ignore all the other groups in the disability sector that have got the chop, so to speak, in the past week. The Taoiseach said in the Dáil earlier that some of these organisations can appeal that but the Minister must be vigilant. She must protect and defend the advocates and the support services for all people with disabilities.

I accept the point, and I have said this publicly in recent years, that when there is a downturn or if there is a shortage of resources, certain sections of society must be prioritised. We had the medical cards row where people with disabilities got caught in the crossfire. We have to take the tough decisions. We have to admit we have a problem, that the revolution cannot happen overnight but that priority must be given to sick children and children with a disability. That is a sensible point.

Another issue we cannot forget is the 187,000 carers in this State who work closely with their families. Legislation should be implemented to ensure a statutory entitlement to home care community services. There should be the provision of adequate supports for carers caring for those with a mental health illness. There should be the restoration of cuts applied to the respite care grant and household benefits package. The €100 water allowance should apply to all full-time carers regardless of whether they are in receipt of the household benefits package. There should be an extension of the local property tax exemptions to include households where a high level of care is provided. I am talking about 187,000 people who are doing a fantastic job against the odds. They are saving the Exchequer and saving the State.

The broader vision is about protecting and demanding rights for people with a physical and intellectual disability. We have moved on, and I accept there are examples of good practices in the services. We have some top-class services but there are also major anomalies that we have to deal with today.

I urge the Minister, and the Government, to read carefully the contents of this motion as it sets out a clear path to ensure all people with disability are acknowledged and supported with a decent service. This motion is about representing the rights of all people with disability. I thank all my colleagues in the Technical Group and all the Independent Deputies for their great support for this motion.

I call on the Government to implement the plans and the vision in this motion. I urge Deputies on all sides of the House to look seriously at the issue because I believe strongly that a great deal can be done to resolve it.

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