Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the debate. I had a commitment to speak to representatives of an organisation who were before a committee. I apologise that I had to nip out in the middle of the debate. I commend Deputies on the earnestness and genuineness of the debate. We constantly see the challenges that are there for people with disabilities. We see the need in this report. It is stark and lays out the challenges that are there and considers what we need for people with disabilities to ensure they are as included as possible. It is about a coherent policy from the cradle to the grave. It is about a coherent policy from start to finish. At every juncture in the lives of people with disabilities, there must be a roadmap and help and support for them. We, as public representatives, see the challenges that are met by families, particularly at junctures when children are starting school or preschool, primary school, second-level school or are leaving school. We need to be holistic in how we approach the social model for providing for people with disabilities. We have to move away from the medical model. Maslow's pyramid of need came out during the war years. It included basic needs but also stated that everyone needs a progression to become a part of a community, to be wanted in a community and to have a sense of self-worth. We need that to guide the Joint Committee on Disability Matters and this House, and the decisions that are made by the Government. We must acknowledge the pyramid of need is out there. Everybody needs to have a sense of self-worth and a journey, and needs to be supported.

Families face a constant battle to get services. People in their 70s and 80s are looking after adult sons and daughters. They have given their lives to doing so. They are worn by the system. We must ensure that is not the experience of people as the generations go forward.

I thank the Government for allowing us to bring the report before the House and to have it read before the House. I also pay enormous tribute to my fellow members of the committee I am privileged to chair. It is only because of the gel within the committee that we can give a sense to people with disabilities, their families and communities, that we have their best interests at heart. We are banging a drum and need to bang it louder.

I thank the Minister of State for her time and effort, and her genuine concern about these issues. We will continue as long as we can to make a difference for people with disabilities.

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