Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will raise the issue of disability day services in Dublin West. I have raised this issue on several occasions previously. Karl attends a service in our community. For the past two years, his family did everything right. They socially distanced, they accepted a service that had to close during lockdowns and they got their vaccines and boosters. They were willing to go the extra mile to keep themselves, their son and his friends well. However, the family have gone from being extremely supportive to deeply frustrated due to the continuing denial of a full service for Karl. He is entitled to a five-day service but has not got one full week since the Covid pandemic began. It has been a four-day service since it recently opened up. The straw that broke the camel's back this week, however, was when Karl was called into the office and told he would have zero days next week. He was distraught and upset that he was losing his service and losing out on being with his friends; he could not understand why. He got upset and was told there was nothing to cry about. After two years of isolation and being told time and again that there will not be a return to a full service for some time, you can understand why the family are upset and angry.

No community employment training centre or Youthreach centres have closed in recent weeks. Pubs, clubs, cinemas and restaurants have all fully opened, with virtually no restrictions. Football matches are at full capacity. Why are adult day disability services being treated differently from everything else? It is not a medical centre; it is a training centre. What would the Minister for Education say if schools said to students in primary and post-primary schools that it is their turn not to have an education next week? Does the Minister of State believe that this is acceptable? Will she demand that all services are opened full time as quickly as possible? I spoke on the phone to Karl yesterday. He was so upset because he could not see his friends next week. This issue is something that needs to be addressed.

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