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

Please, do not deny the work that is being done step by step or the progress that has been made. Consider the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD, and the extra €3 million that the Independent Alliance negotiated in recent days to set up the decision support service. This is another step forward under the UN convention. I remind Deputies that it was the Independent Alliance that included the convention in the programme for Government. It is the Independent Alliance that is pushing this issue every single day, and it is our intention to ratify the convention.

In this year's budget, the Independent Alliance negotiated €1.763 billion in funding for disability services, which is an increase of €75 million on last year's figure. The Independent Alliance is committed to people with disabilities and their rights. We are committed to investing in and reforming services and, above all, putting the person with the disability at the heart of services.

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