Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and congratulate him on his new brief which is a challenge. He will be judged on it. Deputy Ó Cuív made a good point last night when he said the Government backbenchers are fond of blaming Fianna Fáil for decisions they took while in office. The Minister of State is in office now and if he does not agree with what they did, he is in a position to change that.

It is an uphill struggle for people with disabilities and their families to access facilities and services so they can participate fully in society to the best of their potential. That struggle has not been made easier in the lifetime of the current Government. In fact, it has been made more difficult as conditions have deteriorated, so those with disabilities must engage in an almighty battle even for the basics. We could be here all night listing the problems, which include waiting lists for vital speech and language services, occupational therapy and physical therapy. There are long waiting lists but such services are often not available in some parts of Ireland.

The freeze on public sector recruitment and the non-replacement of staff on maternity leave mean that families are being left with nothing. There is also a crisis in the mental health sector. The Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum is not fit for purpose and should be subject to an immediate review of its facilities and staffing levels.

Deputy Wallace mentioned the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill and the fact that Ireland has not signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. All of these matters are hugely important but the treatment of children with disabilities is particularly abhorrent. The Government has fallen down in this regard.

A family sent me a letter a while ago and began by quoting from the autism task-force of about 15 years ago. That report said the implications are clear - this is a vulnerable, high risk group in urgent need of help. In fact, they are more disabled in many ways by the attitudes of society, the neglect of State services and lack of support, than they are by their core disability. That is the point. We could be implementing measures that transform the lives of people with disabilities, but we are not.

That starts with the education process in schools. There have been enormously detrimental changes at school level, including the SNA circular which has changed the whole criteria. If students are lucky they may get access to four hours of special needs assistance per week. Professional reports, however, are not being taken into account by the special educational needs organisers, SENOs, and there are many other instances.

The people who wrote to me said they had listened to the previous Minister for Education and Skills telling us that the disability budget is the same as that for An Garda Síochána. They said they need a truly independent, statutory inspection and a root and branch review, exactly like what is being undertaken in An Garda Síochána, to deal with best international practice for children. We have really failed in this respect, however.

The treatment of the deaf community could be sorted out easily. Deaf people are being marginalised and excluded when they should not be. This group of citizens has significantly lower employment expectations due to some of the measures in place. The cutting of the Deaforward Advocacy Service is scandalous and does not take into account deaf people's real lives. Some people think it is a matter of bringing in sign language because they can read, but that is not enough. Some 80% of deaf adults have a literacy level akin to an eight or nine year old. They cannot read or write to the same level and are thus excluded.

Things that would be simple for other people are not available for the deaf. They cannot ring someone up to get support and information, so they need advocacy services. The Irish Deaf Society's YouTube clip highlights all the areas of need. They may require private medical treatment, for example, and in addition deaf parents do not want their children reading out private correspondence on personal health matters. They need a third party to do that work. Those people's first language is Irish sign language, which they want to have recognised. It should be recognised and it is deeply regrettable that it has not been. It is insulting that the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, put off that decision. She said we need to have the services in place before we can recognise Irish sign language.

For a saving of €70,000 that advocacy service, which transforms the lives of deaf people, was axed. If the Minister of State, Deputy Ó Riordáin, does nothing else, he should reverse that cut. He will be judged on such actions and will benefit from them.

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