Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach. The Covid-19 pandemic has greatly disrupted everyone’s lives. Its effects vary considerably for people of different race, ethnicities and income levels. What has been the impact on people with disabilities? Children and teenagers, for example, with a wide range of developmental, physical and behavioural needs have been very severely impacted. Ongoing harm caused by the pandemic or rather caused by the Government’s inaction, or actions as has been said earlier, has been especially evident for people with disabilities. Disruptions in education, employment, healthcare and social services have been amplified. Parents took on full-time care-giving roles while also stepping into new roles as special educators, speech therapists, behavioural therapists and more. This has been exhausting, frustrating and often just not possible for many families.

July provision should be just automatic this year. There should not be any real hassle in getting this but our systems are cumbersome. On the issue of school bus tickets, the mess and mayhem is starting again as happens year after year. We have a dysfunctional Department of Education which is not capable of sorting out this kind of thing.

Programmes and social lives have been curtailed. Many people who have intellectual or physical disabilities require highly specialised, and indeed, one-to-one programmes. They need direct support to be safe, to learn, to work or to perform daily living skills. Some may have more difficulty using technology or learning and working in a virtual world. For many, their social life is solely through schools, employment or community programming. The effect, then, of limited social networks during the pandemic has been one of extreme isolation and has been especially difficult.

It is hard to believe that we have Ireland now signing up to United Nations treaties and conventions where there has been such a daily struggle. My late brother was a paediatrician. He is gone now since 2006 and he championed this. I still meet families who miss him, the late Dr. Eddie McGrath. The battle for people or for families with a profoundly disabled child or with whatever learning difficulties they might have is one where they have to fight for every morsel of support.

There are waiting lists of 1,400 people that go on years. It is callous. I am not blaming the Minister of State but rather successive Governments. We talk about it and sign up to the conventions but do nothing about it.

There are deeply dysfunctional administrative staff at the HSE, Tusla and other agencies. There are some great people within those organisations but they get frustrated, and if they try to make changes, they are stopped and told to get back into their box and do this, that and the other. I compliment the people who did go into work and got services going, but many public servants are not pulling their weight. They need to get back to work and unclog the system. The agricultural system is one of many in which nothing is happening. They are not even opening envelopes. I refer also to the Passport Office and to the issuing of driver licences and theory tests. Some people need licences for essential reasons; for example, if they have to drive their children with intellectual or physical disabilities to school or special playgrounds.

I salute from the bottom of my heart the mothers and fathers and families, siblings and communities that are trying to work. We in Caisleán Nua na Siúire set up a wonderful organisation pre-Covid called Positive Steps Together to try to put together a resource centre to give some respite to these parents. We were going great. There was a very enthusiastic outpouring of support and we raised a considerable sum in a short time, but along came Covid and everything fell to the ground, with no meetings, no HSE business, no interactions, no planning, no nothing.

As I said earlier, given that 67 patients were in hospital on Monday last and 23 were in ICU, we need to let our country live again. We need to get the cabal of NPHET off our backs, let ourselves live and get the Government to take control and look after everyone, but especially the people suffering with these ailments. Let us live again. Fear has been driven into us. We see that now in the debate on antigen testing. This will all come out in the international investigation I am calling for and we will see the gaping failures. We will be reminded then of the cervical cancer smear tests and what happened in that regard. It is shocking, but above all, the issue before the House needs to be dealt with because these people deserve it. All Deputies have received phone calls from parents who could not cope with their anguish and everything else during Covid and throughout last year. It is continuing 15 months later, and if NPHET gets its way, it will continue into the winter and over Christmas.

See this speech in context