Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

More broadly, I take issue with some of the language the Deputy used. I know he speaks in good faith, but there is no agenda on this side of the House to demonise any person with special needs or a disability or, indeed, to divide the disability community. I wish to make this very clear.

The State has more to do in respect of providing for disability services and for people's special needs. I refer to the totality of services being provided in health, education, childcare, housing, employability, and providing opportunities for employment. Across the full gamut of services, the State has progressed in many areas, but has much more to do. Over the past 30 years, and certainly since the late 1990s, I would argue that significant progress has been made in the area of education with special needs. We have mainstreamed and transformed education significantly in terms of the provision of special needs assistants, SNAs and the recognition of autism as a special category, which was not recognised until the late 1990s. It is hard to believe this, but these are the facts. Over time, however, special classes and interventions have been provided.

Turning to health, again, in terms of basic services, diagnostics and so on, there have been improvements. Regarding therapies, the situation in this regard is not where I would like it to be. We have made it clear to the HSE that we are not satisfied in respect of access to therapies for children with special needs. In particular, the progressing disability services for children programme was developed by the HSE some years ago. In my view, it has not achieved what it set out to do. This is especially the case in terms of special schools and access to therapies, which I believe should be undertaken in the context of a multidisciplinary approach. Ongoing engagement with the Minister for Health and the HSE is happening in respect of these issues, namely, access to occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and other therapeutic interventions required by children with special needs.

Moving to the mobility issue the Deputy raised, the points he made are legitimate. The Minister for Finance is examining one aspect of this concerning taxation and reforms in this context but also regarding other measures we can provide to enable people to have regular access in a transport context. The Minister for Transport is also focused on this subject. The cost of disability report was published in 2021 and it established that the additional costs of disability run across several policy areas, including housing, equipment, aids and appliances, and care and assistance. We are reflecting on this issue in terms of how we can now mainstream this in terms of payments and so on.

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