Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent)

It is accepted that persons with disabilities and their families face a much higher cost of living than people generally. A Government-commissioned report prepared by Indecon in 2021 confirmed this. It reported the additional cost at between €9,500 and €12,000 per annum. Research by the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice put the additional cost at about €244 per week. A study this year by the Economic and Social Research Institute showed that households with disabled persons face significant financial burdens and are at very high risk of poverty.

Many of these households are doubly affected because they also have members who care on a 24-hour basis on a carer's allowance of €260 per week or €1.55 per hour. It is not unusual therefore for carers themselves to become ill from stress, overwork and isolation, resulting in a situation where both disabled persons and their carers are hospitalised. It is important to note that carers save the State about €20 billion each year, preventing avoidable hospital admissions and enabling many people to remain in their homes safely for longer periods.

In the run-up to the last general election, all parties committed to introducing a weekly cost-of-disability payment. There is no sign of that payment currently, nor was it in last week's budget. I fully agree with the motion put forward by Sinn Féin this evening, which calls for the immediate introduction of a weekly cost-of-living payment and a lump-sum payment before Christmas in recognition of the additional costs.

I want to return to the fundamental issue of the timely assessment of need within the six-month time limit. The Government continues to break the law that requires the completion of an assessment of need within six months of referral. There are 16,000 children on waiting lists currently and that is estimated to increase to 20,000 by year end.

There are over 40,000 on waiting lists for various therapies such as speech and language, occupational therapy, psychology, etc. I welcome the additional moneys for the assessment of need included in the budget last week. I commend the teenage disability rights campaigner, Cara Darmody from Ardfinnan in south Tipperary, who has extracted two tranches of funding for this service. Unfortunately, even with the extra funding, we will still be running to standstill and the Government will continue to break the law, denying thousands of children their legal right to an assessment within the six-month time limit. This is because there is no policy, no strategy and no plan to deal with the unacceptable waiting list.

Much has been made of the special Cabinet committee on disability based in the Taoiseach's office. However, we have seen no coherent plan emerging from this committee to tackle the assessment of need waiting list. Dollops of money at budget time alone will not solve this problem. Last week the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters heard presentations from representatives of the National Disability Authority. That authority was established under the National Disability Authority Act 1999. Its main statutory functions are: to advise the Government on disability policy and related issues; to undertake and commission research in relation to disability; develop standards and codes of practice to support accessibility and universal design; to monitor the implementation of disability policy and legislation at national level; and to promote universal design across services, the built environment, information and communication technology and public policy. Its role is to provide evidence, policy advice and monitoring that informs Government decision making.

I was surprised and disappointed to find that the special Cabinet committee on disability had not even requested advice from the authority on how the unacceptable assessment of need waiting list might be dealt with. I was further surprised to find that the authority itself had not on its own initiative and on the basis of its statutory advisory responsibility suggested or proposed such a plan to deal with the unacceptable waiting list.

As the Minister knows, timely assessment of need is the fundamental issue facing disability services. It is the foundation and basis for all future education and development for the individuals concerned and the development of the necessary services. It is as though this issue is not being taken seriously. I call on the National Disability Authority and the Government to prepare and publish urgently a paper on how the huge waiting list for the assessment of need is to be dealt with into the future. This is a fundamental issue which underpins everything that needs to be done in relation to disability services. The sooner we have that plan and that paper the better.

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