Erin McGreehan (Louth, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish the Minister, Deputy Foley, and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, the very best in their hugely important roles. They have a massive responsibility, with thousands of people across this country relying on their success. We have made some progress in the provision of disability services. I commend the Minister of State's predecessor, Senator Anne Rabbitte, on her work and on her dedication to people with disabilities during her term in office.

This is a whole-of-government problem and a whole-of-society issue . Every Department and public body must abide by the law and fulfil its public sector duty to ensure that people are not discriminated against. Unfortunately, day in and day out, people are disabled not by their condition but by the restrictions put on them by the State, by society and by our built environments. There is a cruelty to it. Often, because people have a disability they are curtailed by our State and put into a poverty cycle of health inequality. It often feels as if the State does not want people with disabilities to have ambition. I know this not to be true, but it is the effect of many of our State policies.

There are many issues I will take up with the Minister of State's ministerial colleagues over the next four years. With regard to her brief, however, I make no qualms about saying that things are not good with disability services at present. Like many other counties, Louth has huge waiting lists. More than 600 children are on the list for assessments of need. That is not to mention the waiting list for those who had assessments and who are not receiving any therapies. Louth services have a vacancy rate of about 50%, with more than 32 of the positions involved across the north and south of the county. The torture and heartache families are put through is just agonising.

Children with disabilities are suffering while waiting to access therapies and assessments of need. This not only affects their present, it also has lifetime consequences. We cannot fail here. We must address this issue head on. These children deserve equal opportunities. They deserve to thrive and they deserve to reach their full potential like every other child. Many speakers referred to how services are being stretched and how many children are waiting for assessments of need. Consider what we have achieved over the past year, with more than 14,000 children waiting and 2,400 on waiting lists.

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