Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise an issue related to the point raised by the previous speaker and the whole conversation around accessibility. We have heard the issue discussed in the media in recent days but people have also contacted me on it. In fairness, incredible work has been done in terms of facilitating outdoor dining but there has probably been a trick missed in the sense that accessibility, particularly wheelchair accessibility, was not built into it. That should be a starting point for all such discussions into the future.

Would it be possible for one of the Ministers of State present to deal with the issue of St. John of God day services when they are returning fire, as they say? I know there is a process ongoing in that regard, but at what stage is the process? There are several families, particularly in my constituency, who are somewhat worried about what the future holds. If possible, they should be given some sort of succour that everything is going in the right direction and there will be provision of these absolutely necessary services into the future.

Many of my colleagues, including Deputy Tully, referred to special education teaching and the allocation and the need for review.

A number of school managers in my constituency have contacted me lately to say they do not have adequate provision. We need an overall review to deal with that particular issue.

There is an issue in terms of people with disabilities falling between stools. I refer to adults who do not have the capacity to live life as the rest of us do and who may have been unlucky in not having had supportive parenting or other family supports, as a result, in some cases, of terrible tragedy. There may also be crossover issues to do with mental health and otherwise. It may happen that such people's care falls between disability, social care and mental health services. We need to look at that entire process and provision across the board. I hope to have a longer conversation with the Minister of State on this matter. I have had a number of such cases land on my desk in the past while. Sometimes we are giving people whatever support we can but it is a case of keeping the engine going with bale and twine. It is not acceptable that we are failing these people. Early interventions are being missed, which could make it much easier to deal with some of these situations. Instead, people are left waiting until acute care is required and we all know such services are not necessarily in place. That issue must be addressed.

I have spoken to the Minister of State before about particular issues around housing provision for people with disabilities. In particular, there are parents of children with severe disabilities who cannot avail of appropriate housing provision. Again, this needs to be looked at across the board. There is also the issue of the major backlog in local authorities in dealing with applications for housing adaptation grants for people with disabilities. That needs to be reviewed because there are people with real difficulties that are not being dealt with adequately. In fairness, it will require a multi-departmental solution. We will probably have to look at the methodology and process around this provision across the board because it is entirely failing. It is not just the fault of local authorities and the fact they are underfunded. There also needs to be more interaction with the HSE and other agencies.

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