Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this issue this evening. I particularly welcome the organisations and service users who are here to Leinster House tonight.

This Government is committed to providing services and supports for people with disabilities that will empower them to live independent lives, provide greater independence in accessing the services they choose and enhance their ability to tailor the supports required to meet their individual needs. Ultimately, our aim is to provide supports and services that will allow people with disabilities to live ordinary lives in ordinary places in line with commitments contained in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD.

I welcome the opportunity to restate my priority and that of the Government for 2024, which is the enhancement of person-centred supports and services, supporting the progressive roll-out of the action plan for disability services and the implementation of the roadmap for children’s disability services. However, before I proceed, I will briefly update the House on the outcome of the pay talks that concluded last night.

The sustainability and stability of the health and social care sectors and the impact of industrial action on essential services are areas of significant concern for me and the Government. That is why I am particularly pleased to be able to inform the House that, following intense negotiations between officials and trade unions under the auspices of the Workplace Relations Commission, agreement on a pay deal was reached in the early hours of this morning. This positive development has meant that industrial action due to commence today has been postponed while members consider the deal that was negotiated. I know people with disabilities and their families and all of those who avail of services provided by section 39 and section 56 bodies will have been relieved to hear that news this morning. We discussed this issue at some length in the House last Thursday and the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and I reiterated our commitment to find a resolution to this issue, first, because of the serious impact that industrial action would have had on service users, second, because we recognised that a long-running pay disparity existed and needed to be addressed and, third, because we know the staff in these organisations did not want to impact on service users. We welcome this agreement and the additional funding that will flow from it to improve the sustainability of many of the organisations providing services in the spheres of health and disability and the wider sphere of social care.

In recent years, significant resources have been invested in disability services and there have been significant increases in this area. This is reflected in increases in the budget for disability services, a budget which has increased from €1.7 billion at the close of 2017 to just under €2.8 billion in 2024. This year’s current funding allocation sees an additional €195 million for disability services. This demonstrates the Government’s commitment to building capacity in this area. That is alongside a capital allocation of €23 million.

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