Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Minister of State to bear with me as I try to do this very fast. Out of desperation for progress, I commend the decision of acceding to the optional protocol. I commend Clare Leader Forum and the many groups and individuals in County Clare who continue to highlight the necessity of the ratification. However, I am still nervous about the timing and need clarification. I read that the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs must sign an instrument to be deposited with Secretary General of the UN and the protocol will enter into force on the 30th day following the date of the deposit. Has the instrument been signed? Has it been deposited? I beg that the Government does not leave it vague or cause any confusion for people with disabilities in that regard. The delay had led to issues for people with disabilities in respect of personal assistance hours. I raised a specific case before the recess and pointed to the fact that this individual has elderly parents, they have health issues and they have a complex family dynamic, which means they absolutely depend on personal assistance hours to assist them. They were approved for two additional hours and suffered social anxiety. They were extremely upset when they were told to spend more time at the day centre to fill the rest of the gaps. That is not appropriate in this case. I pass this case on again to the Minister of State to see what more can be done for this individual. This person was also told they will lose physiotherapy. This is concerning because the person has cerebral palsy. An interim measure has been put in place but there is no certainty about how long that will remain in place. It points to the cliff edge people with disabilities experience when it comes to adult services. We cannot allow this to happen as we know disability does not age out.

In respect of budget 2025, we have been promised 600,000 home support hours but 3 million HSE home care hours were lost last year due to a lack of personnel to administer them. As of 2 August, there are 2,255 whole-time equivalent CDNT positions and 1,437 vacancies. I raise the neurorehabilitation community teams. My CHO had the first team set up. It is significant that it only has a team of 5.6 instead of the minimum recommended 12 whole-time equivalents. It needs the funding. Will the Minister of State look into that?

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