Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank Solidarity-People Before Profit for tabling the motion. I welcome the decision by the Government to scrap its Green Paper on disability reform. The proposals were highly insulting to disabled people and would have been a massive step backwards for disability rights. It should not have come as a surprise to the Government that there was such a strong backlash by disabled people, DPOs and the public to this deeply offensive plan.

The proposal was to replace the disability allowance, invalidity pension and blind pension with a so-called personal support payment. This would have been divided into three tiers of payments depending on the individual's ability to work. Under the plan, disabled people would have been subject to a medical assessment by employees in the Department of Social Protection and put into one of three separate categories. Those with no capacity to work would get a slightly higher weekly payment while others would have been expected to take up training or find a job. This proposal was a carbon copy of the discredited system introduced in the UK under austerity measures in 2008. These measures were devastating for disabled people and for anyone in receipt of social welfare. I am glad the Government has made a U-turn on this proposal but we need to be clear in this regard and it is important to highlight the reality of what that approach would have meant and what that same approach has meant for disabled people in the UK. Disabled people were presented as benefit cheats by a Tory Government that pitted workers against those in receipt of social welfare payments. British media played up the myth that disabled people were not people in need of support but people chancing their arm. TV shows such as "Benefits Street" were responsible for spreading this deeply harmful and insulting misinformation. This show was name-checked by Deputy Varadkar when the Green Paper was published as if it were some sort of legitimate study. What this attitude resulted in was cut after cut to Britain's social welfare system, leaving those with severe disabilities and serious illness with the threat of their essential benefits being cut if they did not comply with work-related commitments. The vast majority of those who had their benefits cut won on appeal to restore them but many did not have the resources, information or energy to fight the state on that appeal. Poverty levels skyrocketed and people died.

We should never have got to a point where a proposal replicating this human rights disaster of a system got to the Minister's desk, let alone got sign-off and approval for publication. It is incredibly worrying that no one in the chain of decision-making in the Department of Social Protection called a stop before now. What on earth is going on in that Department? While I am glad this position has been reversed serious changes need to be made to the Department of Social Protection's approach to disability reform. Nothing should be done on disability reform without the involvement of disabled people and, crucially, disabled people's organisations. A Cabinet committee is all well and good but if we are serious about changing the attitudes and the processes of Departments and governmental bodies towards inclusion and accessibility, DPOs must be involved at every stage. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is clear on the need for involvement of DPOs in enacting the convention. I hope this experience has impressed on the Government the need and the value of ensuring this involvement takes place in future reforms.

The new Taoiseach has spoken about breaking down silos in government and making changes happen more quickly. I welcome this new focus and the decision to set up a Cabinet subcommittee on disability. There have been many Cabinet committees on many issues and not many of them have produced substantial change. What we need to know now is what the committee will do. When will disability services match not only what disabled people need but what they are entitled to as a right? People have been listening to the same promises from different Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Green Party Ministers for years.

In Fine Gael's case, though, those promises have been made for the past 13 years. One particularly cruel example of these broken promises was the decision made by the Fine Gael-Labour Party Government to abolish personal transport supports for disabled people in 2013. At the time, Ministers said that abolishing these supports was just a temporary measure and that they would be replaced quickly. More than a decade later, people are still waiting for them. Last year, the Ombudsman slammed this delay as "shameful" neglect. He said we did not need more committees or reports; we needed clear leadership and action. Those words also fell on deaf ears in the Government and, in the meantime, people cannot rely on public transport for accessibility.

The National Disability Authority's 2023 well-being and social inclusion survey report found that 53% of disabled people have difficulties accessing public transport and that figure rises to 70% for wheelchair users. Transport, public and personal, is fundamental to enable people to live independently, access employment and lower the risk of social isolation. Our public transport system is simply not accessible and it is not fit for purpose. How many times does that have to be pointed out before some actual action is taken?

I am sure the Minister can understand why people might view these commitments with some scepticism. They have learned from bitter experience that these promises often amount to nothing. The committees, when set up, are just talking shops and the reports, when published, are never acted on. There is no great mystery about what needs to be done to improve services. There is no secret formula that the Minister or a Cabinet committee needs to work out before taking immediate action. All they need to do is listen to disabled people, take the advice of their own expert reports and implement change. That final part - implementation - is what has been missing and it is the only thing that will make a difference.

The Minister does not have to wait any longer to take action. There are things the Government could do this week that would make a significant difference. It could recognise the cost of disability with a cost-of-disability payment. It could replace the personal transport support that Fine Gael abolished 11 years ago. It could provide actual pay parity for section 39 workers, many of whom work in children's disability network teams, CDNTs. It could ratify the optional protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD. All of that could be done now and the Government would have the support of the entire Chamber.

Disabled people, children with additional needs and their families have waited long enough for change. There have been enough broken promises, committees and reports. When will this Government move on from just describing problems to doing something about them? What actual action will we see?

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