Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I spoke briefly to the Minister for Social Protection earlier and she undertook to consider my suggestion that, at a very minimum, a CE scheme for the disabled should be established here. This is not a political matter as far as I am concerned. I am raising this in a non-adversarial, apolitical way. Most of the people who are losing their jobs in Rehab Logistics are not even in my constituency. The factory is located in my constituency but most of the staff are from parts of County Limerick that I do not represent, as well as from Cork, Clare and Tipperary. I have a personal interest in this because I know those people. I have gotten to know them and their families over the years. They are beautiful people to whom life has dealt a very bad hand. In most cases they were born with a mental or physical disability and that has affected how they live their lives. Their lives have been greatly enhanced as a result of being elevated to a position where they can participate in the economic life of their own country and it makes no sense whatsoever to deprive them of that opportunity, particularly when it will not cost the State a single penny. In fact, it will probably cost the State to put them on the scrapheap. Many of the people in question are now in middle age and I do not envisage them getting work again. Some of their parents and carers are infirm and elderly and are literally pleading with their local representatives to do something to save their employment so they can continue to have something to get up for in the morning.

Before concluding, I must say I am aware that SIPTU has taken the Rehab Group to the WRC twice in the last few weeks. I abhor and deplore the attitude that Rehab is taking in this particular case. It is not the function of the Rehab Group to turn its back on these people, to try to walk away from them and to give them reduced redundancy payments, which it is attempting to do at the moment. The job and function of the Rehab Group is to look after and enhance the lives of those unfortunate people.

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