Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left) | Oireachtas source

I have heard a few people talk about "disability" in this debate and say they may find it embarrassing to say the word. I do not accept that. A disability is only a disability when barriers are put up and it is up to society to take away those obstacles. For example, if a dyslexic person cannot read in a class, there would be immediate intervention and recognition that this may be a problem for a person. The child in question would be assessed and brought into educational surroundings he or she requires. I know many dyslexic children who went to a particular school to develop their education before going on to be accountants, for example, and play a key role in society. This is where our society has let down people and the austerity process has put up barriers again. Rather than seeing those barriers coming down, people with disabilities are seeing them going up. The Irish Deaf Society had confidence to demand that Irish Sign Language be recognised, but its funding has been pulled and its offices have closed. It is another brick in the wall for those people to surmount in achieving dignity and accessibility in order that they can play a role in society at a much higher level.

The Government amendment to Deputy Finian McGrath's motion is a disgrace and does not recognise such efforts. The Government's record in disability services and support is a complete contradiction of the Government's stated objectives. The amendment repeats the lofty aspirations of the national disability strategy and includes a comprehensive employment strategy for people with disabilities to be published this year as part of the 2014 Action Plan for Jobs. That is a very slow process and it does not approach the mark of addressing those issues.

The Government has constantly chipped away at specific disability supports, along with mainstream supports. Some 45% of people with disabilities experience income poverty, which means there is something fundamentally wrong. This is not about statistics but real people. The list of cuts is outrageous and every year there is a cut in HSE funding for disability services. There have also been cuts in the housing adaptation grant and capping of special needs assistants. The Minister of State has said that more money will be put into this because there are 2% more children in the education system but that number could decrease by 2% in five years. We must adapt in being able to resource these children.

People feel their children are not being supported within mainstream school. We have spoken about the argument of mainstreaming people so people will not be seen as having a disability, as the Travellers are not treated as a section of society requiring needs. If we do not have proper structures in place to support people, we will be putting barriers up against some in our communities.

Among the cuts is a decrease in mobility and motorised transport allowances. The motor fuel payment used to be quarterly to disabled drivers but it is now paid once a year, making it more difficult for people to be able to manage their income over 12 months. That was a major blow for people when it was implemented in a Finance Bill. The number of personal assistants has been cut and there is a severe decrease in the number of house support hours and the respite care grant. There have also been cuts to the household benefits package and an increase in prescription charges, which have particularly affected those who are disabled.

Despite promises, there have been cuts in basic social welfare payments such as disability allowance, the blind pension, invalidity and carer's allowance. The latest revoking of funding for a scheme for the 26 disability organisations is an absolute scandal. It was shocking to hear the Minister of State say yesterday she did not know about this, and we should ask why that was so. She has been responsible for equality and disability matters. I have more to say but I will finish on that point.

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