Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to contribute to the debate. I would like to acknowledge, and offer my sympathies to, the family of Dr. Martin O'Donnell in Charleville, whose son, Kieran, is a Member, and his wife Veronica. Dr. O'Donnell set up what is now St. Joseph's Foundation in Charleville, which the Minister of State visited in July. It is his legacy. He gave his time to setting up the section 39 organisation that is St. Joseph's Foundation. We should pay tribute to him and many others around the country who gave valiant service to the community and voluntary sector to provide services for those with disabilities. Services 50 years ago were primitive and it was difficult to get funding and break into a world that was kept behind the curtains. We salute him.

By saluting him, we have to accept that a deadly crisis is facing the disability sector and people with disabilities of every kind. I am honoured that Dáil Éireann has appointed me to chair the committee on disability matters. A raft of issues need to be dealt with. All I can tell the House is that I will give it my all, whether that relates to dementia or disabilities. In each and every aspect, I will give it my all and try to bring as much light as possible into the challenges that are facing the disabilities sector.

Many articles in the The Irish Timesand the Irish Examinerrefer to funding. The State has offloaded the need for services to section 39 organisations and has completely under-resourced them over the decades in terms of providing people with disabilities with proper services. Young children are waiting for assessments. People are waiting for occupational therapy or speech and language therapy, which are currently non-existent in the public sector. Parents are waiting years for proper services.

Adult service users attend many fine facilities for which people have fundraised voluntarily around the country, such as the Cope Foundation and St. Joseph's Foundation. Such organisations have been underfunded. We have to accept that what the State is providing at the moment, through all of its funding models, including the HSE and everything else, is not delivering properly. We have to get to the bottom of this and be brutally honest with ourselves and say that there is a monumental challenge.

If we are to be a proper Irish Republic we have to make sure that people with disabilities are looked after from the cradle to the grave, as Dr. Martin O'Donnell often said when he spoke about St. Joseph's in Charleville. We have to ensure that we have the best possible services available. There has been little political argy-bargy in this debate. Everybody who has spoken is genuine about moving this issue forward.

All of us know in our professional work that parents are looking for guidance. One person dropped in a letter to me yesterday. It was being circulated to public representatives to make sure that the voice of the disability sector was raised at the Cabinet table and highlighted prior to the budget. There was no name on the letter, but at the top it stated, "Please help".

I congratulate the Minister of State on what she has done to date. I saw at first hand her compassion and determination when she visited Charleville in July. I ask her to make sure over the next couple of days that, to put it as bluntly as I can, the cage is rattled as hard as possible to get the most money for services so that they can be restored and families can get what we in this Republic should be giving them. I will do whatever I can as Chair of the new committee. I am deeply honoured to have been appointed and I will take it on to the best of my ability. I will do whatever I can.

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