Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to contribute. I congratulate my Sinn Féin colleagues on tabling the motion.

I have watched this debate and I will start with a quote from a family. This puts us in the picture as to the reality of it. She writes:

My name is Shauna Dunne and I am the full-time carer for my 2-year-old son Jack, and the mother of a 4 year old girl called Demi. Jack is currently awaiting an autism assessment and attends private therapy sessions...

Sometimes people don't understand the reality of being a full-time carer. They might think I'm lazy or choosing not to work, but thats far from the truth. My days and nights are long, demanding, and emotionally draining. There's very little time to rest or think about myself. Every bit of energy goes into making sure my son has what he needs, while also trying to give my daughter the love and attention she deserves.

Financially, things are tight. My partner works full-time, but with only one income and the added costs of private therapy sessions, travel to appointments, and specialist items for my son, it's difficult to stay on top of everything. The constant rising of cost of living is crucifying families like ours. I face higher household bills because I'm at home full-time, and any unexpected expense can cause real stress. Going private for an Autism Assessment is out of the question financially.

We all know the cost of disability is unseen by the people unless it affects them. There are over 24,000 people in my constituency of Cork East that have some form of disability, and the additional expenses they faced have not been recognised by the Government in the recent budget.

The average cost of having a disability in Ireland is at least €12,000 a year and if people have severe limitations, they could lose maybe 93% of their disposable income.

In rural parts of my constituency, many disabled individuals are forced to pay for taxis to attend hospital appointments. If this was not bad enough, they also have to pay for parking. Last year Cork University Hospital received an income of more than €2.3 million from car parking charges. We have already called for this to be abolished.

Affordable and accessible housing in rural areas is extremely limited. The grants are totally inadequate. The Government's attitude to families, workers and people with disabilities has been consistently out of touch and has made having a disability and being poor go hand in hand. That says a lot. I wish I had more time to speak on this but I want to mention Fraser syndrome and I ask the Minister of State to check it out. What is being done to people in this country is an absolute disgrace.

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