Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The budget came up short on many fronts but nowhere more importantly than in falling short in the funding for disabilities. Only last night, in the dying seconds, our country avoided a strike by section 39 workers who mainly work with people with disabilities. I recently met representatives of the Irish Wheelchair Association in Clonakilty, both workers and users. I also met people working in CoAction. I have spoken on the phone to workers and service users in the past week. Until yesterday, many workers were worried about going out on strike because of the people they care for. They showed respect to the people they care for who were going to be affected by the forced strike by section 39 workers. Those workers and users of section 39 organisations are treated with enormous disrespect. It is a sector the Government thinks it can kick around and get away with doing so. That was until the workers stood up to being bullied with the threatened strike.

The situation is no different from that of our early childcare workers. That sector has been kicked around, so to speak, as it is deemed by this Government a sector it does not have to recognise.

I do not know if the Minister of State has any interest in what I am saying. I am talking on behalf of the people of west Cork. it is unfortunate the Minister of State has turned away and is talking to someone else.

I appeal at every chance I can to get the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, to break down the figures for the early childcare sector but he has failed to do so to date for reasons we do not know. It was a shame to drag those section 39 workers to within minutes of a strike and allow terror around the people they care for and love.

I was elected in 2016. Almost immediately, representatives of CoAction and other providers, such as the Irish Wheelchair Association, met me on the topic of pay parity. Fast forward to 2023 and at the eleventh hour and 59th minute, and I mean the 59th minute, when the nation had turned against the Government, it pulled back. What happened in the previous seven years? Year in and year out, a solution was promised but nothing was delivered. Why has the Government such disrespect for CoAction workers? Why has it such disrespect for Irish Wheelchair Association workers? Why has it so much disrespect for section 39 workers? The way the Government treats people is appalling. The people in the Irish Wheelchair Association and CoAction work tirelessly for the people they love. It is not just in these two organisations. There are many section 39 workers in communities making meals on wheels, etc. It is time to show respect to these sectors. Just because they are working in the lower sector of our society in the Government's eyes does not mean it can walk all over them. Many of the people they care for have severe disabilities. To be honest, there has been a long litany of disrespect for people who have disabilities.

The condemnation of the budget stems from the frustration at the inaction and insufficient support provided by the Government. The disability capacity review to 2032, a critical document published in July 2021, outlined the demand and capacity required for disability and social care up to 2032. It covered various crucial aspects, including residential services, day services, personal assistants, home support, respite services, therapies and community services. However, the estimated funding allocation for personal assistants drew sharp criticism from disabled persons organisations that deemed it inadequate to genuinely facilitate independent living.

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