Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Ireland signed the UNCRPD in 2007 and ratified it in 2008. We have utterly failed to ratify the optional protocol to the convention, which would allow people to take an action. For years, we have moved away from charity. I welcome changes the Minister has made, including the different bonuses that have been given. However, organisations working with people with disabilities have repeatedly said we need to move away from that model. They want a model of empowerment that enables people to live. That requires us to provide a basic payment, but we have failed to do so. We are now back to basics. The Green Paper was scrapped, which I welcome, and the issue has gone back to the Cabinet. With an election on the cards, absolutely nothing has been given.

We can choose figures from any report to illustrate the issues. People with a disability are more than twice as likely as those without to experience poverty and deprivation. They have an employment rate of just 36%, which is the fourth lowest in the EU. I could go on. I know the Minister's heart is in this and I know the work she does. However, we have to move away from praising ourselves for giving a little bit from one budget to the next. We must move towards an overall plan that is rights-based and about empowerment.

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