Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the groups in the Public Gallery this evening who have come to listen to the debate. I thank Deputy Tully for bringing this motion forward.

I congratulate and express solidarity with the section 39 workers who deal with health and disability services, the section 56 workers who deal with services to children, and the section 10 workers who deal with homeless services. They have won an important step forward in their ongoing struggle to have their work properly recognised and compensated and their services properly funded.

I do not know the full details of the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, offer that was made in the early hours of this morning. The 8% is not pay parity, however. The workers are going to have to look at exactly what the offer is and make their minds up in the voting that will take place.

I know how hard the decision was to go out on strike and risk suspending services, but they knew that without action, the situation would deteriorate and services would continue to worsen. This situation did not need to happen. The Government knew what needed to be done and eventually went to the WRC at the last minute. There was no need to put such serious stress on workers and the people to whom they provide the services.

The next step in my mind must be full pension rights for these workers. These workers are not classified as public service workers and do not have public service pensions. There is a disgraceful double standard in community and service workers between the private and public sector. They deserve to have their work valued and properly compensated both while in work and after work in their retirement.

Section 39 workers are particularly important to this debate because the strike was not just to be about pay and conditions. It was about defending services for people who need them the most. Budget 2024 was a hard blow to people with disabilities. The Disability Federation of Ireland called this a “devastating sidelining of disabled people”. Its CEO, Mr. John Dolan, said that, “The measures introduced today do not come close to meeting the needs of people with disabilities.” That is really what this budget was about: a little bit for everyone, a lot for landlords and not enough for any of the change people desperately need. This is a budget that will continue to keep thousands of people with disabilities in poverty. It will continue to leave thousands not being able to make ends meet.

As the Minister of State knows, one in five people with disabilities lives in poverty, which is almost four times the national average. Some 44.3% live in deprivation. Earlier this year, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul found that the number of disabled people living in poverty almost doubled from 2021 to 2022. People with disabilities are some of the most economically vulnerable people in this country. That so many live in poverty, deprivation and energy poverty is a disgraceful failure of our State’s ability to look after those most in need.

The average annual cost of disability is between €8,700 and €12,300. The €500 cost-of-disability grant introduced last year has been discontinued. The Minister, Deputy McGrath, said "it is important that we acknowledge that persons living with a disability face additional costs". This budget clearly does not recognise that fact.

The €12 core social welfare increase is a pittance compared with the inflation and cost-of-living increases people have seen over recent years. Most groups working in areas like disability supports, elderly care and anti-poverty were calling for €25 to €30 just to stand still and stop more people going into poverty. This is one of a series of budgets that has left people on social welfare behind. This is a political choice to lower the standard of living for people who rely on social welfare and put more people into poverty.

This obviously increases the chances of people in disabilities falling into poverty, especially as they are more than three times more at risk of poverty than the national average. We have still not had sight nor sound of the Government making any serious effort to ratify the optional protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, despite several commitments to do so. I listened to the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, speak tonight. He still could not give a timeline with regard to that. Of course, the Minister of State knows that if the Government were to ratify it, it would finally be held account for the poverty, underfunded services and complete lack of employment supports people with disabilities face in this country.

This complete lack of caring for the crises facing our country is also reflected in this budget’s provisions for the health service. A figure of €800 million this year when we underfunded our health services by more than €2.5 billion last year is a disgrace. This is a political choice to allow our health service to get worse, allow more people on trolleys, longer waiting lists and more people to receive substandard care because of lack of services caused by underfunding. Ms Phil Ní Sheaghdha came out very strongly on this and her concerns for accident and emergency departments, etc., throughout the country coming into the winter. This will have a massive effect on both patients and staff. We will see cutbacks for plans for cancer care, plans for youth and adult mental health care and trials for new drugs.

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