Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputies Catherine Connolly and Joan Collins.

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this timely motion, a few weeks after Ireland officially ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. I am disappointed that the optional protocol was not enacted at the same time. I believe the failure to do so further entrenches existing inequalities for people with disabilities as they are prevented from holding the Government to account on this issue. I also believe a suite of legislative measures and funding packages should have accompanied the long-awaited ratification by the Government. I appreciate that the motion has come in light of Government inaction overall. Due to the little time available, I will briefly outline some outstanding issues regarding the provision of disability services in Donegal and the lack thereof.

I have been working alongside Our Children's Voice in Donegal, which represents families of children with life-limiting conditions. These families are forced to travel with their children to Dublin because no facility exists in Donegal to cater for children with rare diseases. Greater cross-Border access is urgently required for these children, including possible consultant-led holding clinics in Donegal to include outreach clinics, feeding clinics and full respite and hospice care. I echo the call in the motion for the removal of the in loco parentisclause in all contracts for home nursing care. Quality of life issues are crucial in the debate for increased funding and greater access to disability services. Provision of adequate health care is necessary to combat disability inequality. Wherever possible, early intervention, proper management and person-centred care must be made available according to an individual's needs.

However, Letterkenny University Hospital saw more than 5,000 people on trolleys last year, the highest on record. That is a sure sign of a completely dysfunctional, chronically underfunded and broken health system. Meanwhile, the HSE national appointment and recruiting system seems to be deteriorating, with it taking up to two years to fill vacant posts for diabetes care.

Intellectual disability services remain chronically underfunded. I want to thank the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, for agreeing to meet a delegation from the Cleary centre in Donegal town over growing concerns regarding previous commitments given on capital funding for the centre. Seaview respite home in Donegal has also faced chronic staffing problems. Recruitment is a real problem with vacant posts popping up in centres in Donegal due to a variety of reasons.

We must remember that the people in need of these services are some of the most vulnerable in our communities. Their families are some of the most dedicated individuals one will meet, but they have been asked to shoulder too much, including fighting for every little morsel handed to them by the Government. It is time to prioritise disability services across the board, not just in health care, and eradicate where we can the pervasive structural inequalities that have given rise to the deplorable statistics facing people who live with or end up with disabilities in their lives.

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