Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I compliment Deputy Finian McGrath and thank him for allowing me to speak on his motion. I salute him for his continuous work for those with disabilities. I welcome Mr. John Dolan and others from the Disability Federation of Ireland who are in the Public Gallery.

The motion is simple and straightforward, unlike the Government's amendment which contains language that means nothing to people with disabilities. Why could the Government not have just accepted this motion?

I wish the new Minister of State well, but the Taoiseach missed an opportunity yesterday to demonstrate full interest in and caring for people with disabilities by not appointing a senior Minister to that role. Such an appointment could look after those people. As Deputy Neville said, we are all disabled in many ways, some more than others. I salute Deputy Neville and others who support this motion but who unfortunately, because of the Whip system, will have to troop in behind the Government to vote it down.

The Government amendment is full of self-congratulatory statements, which are empty and valueless. In the last budget, we saw the attacks, including cuts, on people with disabilities. If evidence is needed it is to be found in this Government's record. As Deputy Ó Cuív said, Government backbenchers keep blaming the last Government, but they have been in government for almost three and a half years now. Apart from the annual budgets, there have been three or four savage attacks on people with disabilities. They had to come up here to protest last summer and threatened to sit outside Leinster House all night. The former Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, said he knew nothing about it.

Last night, the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, said she did not know anything about last week's 25 cuts to the advocacy groups by Pobal. What is going on? Are the lunatics running the asylum? They cannot claim they do not know. They are elected by the people to govern, so they must do so.

There is a sustained attack by some sections in Government - I am not saying politicians, but by the permanent government - to cut and row back on payments for those with disabilities. It is shameful. They should not have to come here and fight to be looked after. We will be judged on how we look after ourselves.

The cuts to advocacy groups are appalling and to think that Pobal is administering this. The Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, said last night that she did not know anything about it. The former Minister, Deputy Hogan, who was in charge of Pobal, has now left these lands for greener pastures. No one cares. Pobal is the same organisation that administers child care and grant aid for many other sectors. It is another quango which, like the HSE, was set up as an intermediary body that we can blame.

Last week, we saw where an independent report would not sign off on the €2.5 million spent by Pobal going around to inspect areas involved in an early child care study. Pobal was inspecting the matter while it is also administering it, so the fox is minding the chickens. It is farcical and it had better change. As long as that situation continues, the Minister of State will have no hope of changing anything. It is easy to blame Pobal which is an independent organisation, but it is not the same as voluntary organisations, such as the Irish Wheelchair Association and countless others, whose members are out day and night looking after people with disabilities. They have busy lives but devote their spare time to raising funds through church gate collections, organising golf classics and bringing those on respite grants away for holidays. They do all this in a voluntary capacity. Then we can see what went on at the Central Remedial Clinic, which was disgraceful.

It is time the Government intervened and took charge of this sector. It should take charge of running the country because it is not only this area that is out of kilter and out of touch.

Pobal is administering the scheme and it is also supposed to monitor it, for which it is claiming considerable amounts of money. It is claiming €2.5 million when €1.2 million would keep 25 organisations, such as the Huntington's Disease Association of Ireland, in operation. Money is being cut for people with the most debilitating diseases, €25,000 in some cases. It is merciless and disgraceful for Government Members to rub their hands and blame Pobal. The Taoiseach stated yesterday and today that it is possible to appeal decisions. These appeals get us nowhere. Where is the humanity in Government and State institutions like the HSE or the many quangos that have been established despite the Government's promise to abandon them? If the Taoiseach was sincere about this issue, he would appoint a full Minister with responsibility for disabilities. Given the mess of the health services, we cannot rely on the HSE to look after this area. I appeal to the Minister of State, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, to rein in Pobal and recoup this money. If his predecessor does not know, I ask him to find out why these cuts were imposed. Will people have to wait four months for a decision on an appeal even though staff are depending on the funding? Shame on this Government for attacking the poorest of the poor.

See this speech in context