Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

People with disabilities and carers in my constituency of Longford-Westmeath and across the State deserve much better than feeling abandoned and constantly let down by the Government. They need to see the delivery of substantial supports like assessments of need, therapy supports, personal assistants, home care assistants, assistive technology and respite. They need the Government to ratify the optional protocol to the UNCRPD. They at least need a date today, because the protocol calls for the transformation of policy responses from a medical model to a human rights-based model, where people with disabilities are no longer viewed and treated as medical objects, but as individuals capable of living independently, being included in our communities and contributing to our society like everyone else.

Ireland signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and finally ratified it in 2018. Those articles are binding. That means Ireland has made a commitment to protect and promote the rights of people with disabilities. However, the Government did not ratify the optional protocol and the door to appeals and complaints remains firmly closed to those with disabilities. Access for children to assessments of need under the Disability Act and the CDNT model is now so broken that not only are children being failed and continuing to suffer, but they are ageing out of the system. The Department of Education has removed the HSE's data from its model of assessing the allocation of special education teacher hours because it is so unreliable. This has resulted in further deep fear and distress among parents of children with additional needs. Is it any wonder that CDNTs are experiencing serious recruitment and retention issues which are driving the waiting lists to be even longer? The inability to provide an equitable service in line with demand is grossly unfair and it needs to stop. This system is unfair. It is failing to meet the needs of those who need care and those with disabilities. It is failing to support those who provide care. The very same people who are often left to pick up the pieces when the State fails are the same people who provide the State with a saving of €20 billion a year. I call on everyone to support this motion, to implement it and to do right by those with disabilities, those who need care and those who provide that care.

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