Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I apologise to the Minister of State. I did not hear her opening comments because I was at a meeting. I thank Sinn Féin for tabling the motion and making it an all-party effort. It is absolutely imperative that we discuss the UNCRPD and its full implementation, particularly given the huge impact on disability services that Covid-19 has had. As Deputy Pringle just said, we signed up to the UN convention and 11 years later, only after long hard campaigning by disability activists, with protests every couple of months two years ago by various disability, activist and advocate groups, the Government was eventually forced, and it really was forced, to do what it should have done 11 years earlier and ratify the UN convention.

Even when the Government was dragged kicking and screaming to ratify it, it left out the critical part, which was the optional protocol. I do not know whether this was discussed earlier and whether the Government has given a commitment that it will adopt the optional protocol. I will not say the UN convention is not worth the paper it is written on without the optional protocol but it is not far off it. That is the thing that really forces accountability on the Government and gives a mechanism to people with disabilities to hold the Government to account as to whether it will ensure real equality at every level for people with disabilities, who are clearly denied this at a whole range of levels, whether transport, employment or education. In just about every sphere of life equality is not a tangible reality.

When I think about things that have happened recently in a campaign in which I have been involved with St. Mary's Telford on the Merrion Road, it is shocking that the Government is allowing them to happen. The Sisters of Charity have just decided to get rid of a convalescence centre nursing home for people with disabilities and effectively turf out women, some of whom suffered at the hands of the Sisters of Charity, who have lived there for 60 years with visual impairment and disability. They were just told their homes are going. They have waged a massive campaign and the Sisters of Charity are now speaking about leaving them for a little while but essentially they have been told to get out. This is funded by the HSE with taxpayers' money but because it is the Sisters of Charity they can do this for reasons unknown. The Government is just saying it is not its affair. It is just not on that this should be allowed to happen.

I should mention St. Monica's Nursing Home in Belvedere Place. I do not know it as well. The workers there have just been dumped and are not getting paid proper redundancy. It is shocking. In recent days, I received a letter about St. John of God. I do not know whether this issue has been raised. Disability services should be publicly delivered and not delivered through religious organisations but as it happens St. John of God delivers pretty much all of the intellectual disability services in my area. It is stating they are all going. Such is the level of underfunding from the HSE that there will be no services. They will just have to walk away. At the bottom of it are the austerity cuts that were imposed back in 2008 and the years afterwards. It has never really recovered from them or the failure of the Government to provide the funding. There is the threat to St. Joseph's dementia care in Shankill, which nearly went under other than big campaigning. That is just not on. We are not putting the resources into make equality a reality.

I think about my friends Sean O'Kelly and Bernard Mulvany who run the Access for All campaign to ensure that lifts on the DART line are fixed. A bit of extra money has been given but there is still a long way to go to ensure access to the DART. We have a lot more to do so let us get a commitment on the optional protocol and let us actually put the resources in to make equality for people with disabilities a reality.

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