Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I have raised this issue many times. I basically seek the Government to put in place a waiver for families with disabilities or where there are long-term illnesses, for example, where incontinence pads or pull-ups are required in the case of children or young adults, so that the cost of refuse is defrayed or reduced. This would be by virtue of the introduction of a national waiver, which would be sanctioned by Government and would provide a measure of financial alleviation for many hard-pressed families, in particular, working families with children with disabilities.

I raised this issue, about which I feel very strongly, on a number of occasions with three Ministers. What is of little cost to the Exchequer could have a massive impact on the annual expenses of families who rely on incontinence pads or where there are significant medical issues, particularly families with children who have a requirement, either in childhood or young adulthood and onwards, for pull-ups or other such mechanisms or measures that are necessary in dealing with their particular conditions or illnesses.

Ministers, including the Minister, Deputy Ryan, have told me that there is, in essence, a price monitoring group. He said:

In an effort to see how best to support persons with long-term incontinence with respect to the disposal of medical incontinence wear

[...]

... [His] Department ... [had] been examining this issue in detail for some time and has engaged with relevant stakeholders, including representative organisations and the HSE.

I merely wish to know whether the Government is giving active consideration to this. In anticipation of the Minister of State's response, I would say please do not come back to me with the general data protection regulation, GDPR, response or the sensitive medical data response. The Minister of State has responsibility for that area. It has been thrown up as a red herring in respect of not dealing with this issue.

One cannot expect a family to dispose of this type of matter through recycling or through the compost bin. That is self-evident. It must be done through residual waste.

In parts of the country with a weight-based system, bills are high as €400. I have seen examples of €400, €500 and €600 per annum. It is a significant cost. For what would be a small, barely measurable dent in Exchequer funding, this could have a massive impact for families, and it can be done. People yield up sensitive medical information to the Department of Social Protection when applying for an invalidity pension, a disability allowance or an illness benefit. A similar scheme could be devised for these families where sensitive medical data could be yielded up in a safe, responsible and secure way.

It would have a massive impact on thousands of families throughout the State who are bearing a massive financial burden.

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