Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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At the outset, I commend the Technical Group for tabling this motion highlighting the cuts to disability services and disability funding by the Fine Gael-Labour coalition. When on the Opposition benches, both of those parties were vociferous in opposing the cuts imposed on services and funding for people with disabilities perpetrated by the former Fianna Fáil Government.

Yesterday during questions to the Minister for Health, I once again urged the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, and her senior partner at the Department of Health, Deputy James Reilly, not to proceed with the decision to cease the mobility allowance and motorised transport grant schemes. Once again the response from the Minister of State was totally unsatisfactory.

We have still not received an adequate explanation of why, during its two years in office, this Government failed to make the mobility allowance and motorised transport grant schemes compliant with equality legislation and why it took the step it did when it did. That poses further questions. It could have done so by either extending them or replacing them with a fairer scheme or schemes. Its predecessors, the Fianna Fáil Government, knew since the matter was highlighted in 2008, although the situation applied from the millennium year 2000, that they needed to be changed to comply with equality legislation and also failed to act. Instead this Government has announced the cut-off of the schemes in three and a half months’ time and without providing any alternative nor a deadline for the introduction of an alternative.

We call again on the Government to reverse its decision to cease the mobility allowance and motorised transport grant schemes until such time as an alternative is put in place. That alternative needs to be compliant with equality legislation and to provide at least equivalent support to all individuals qualifying under the said two schemes. From the Minister of State’s response yesterday it is clear that at present it intends no such alternative and is speaking generally of the transport options for people with disabilities. That would be a disaster for so many and make no mistake about it, the many more of us in the Chamber who may, God forbid, find ourselves in need of special mobility access and support in the future.

For large parts of this country those transport options for people with disabilities are negligible because in large parts of the country public transport is virtually non-existent as I highlighted yesterday. That is why individualised assistance, such as the two axed schemes, were so important. That point cannot be made strongly enough. We deplore also the Government decision to cut the housing adaptation grant by 40%, greatly penalising people with disabilities and older people and restricting their ability to remain in their own homes. This is a huge cut which has received very little attention but it has very serious long-term consequences for many people and for the State as it will inevitably mean more people requiring residential care and greater expense for the State. The Government should reinstate the housing adaptation grant to at least its 2012 level.

There are other cuts to services for people with disabilities, both directly to their services and in cuts across health, education, social protection and local government. These include the respite care grant, home help and increased prescription charges for medical card holders, if one happens to be an over 70s person still in possession of a medial card despite the Bill that is making its way through the Houses.

We demand that the cuts to services for people with disabilities imposed in 2012 and 2013 be reversed. I call on the Government to immediately publish the long overdue implementation plan for the national disability strategy.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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Recently we discussed the issue of a mobility allowance and the motorised transport grant at the joint committee, following which we had the abrupt announcement that it was to cease pending the outcome of the consultation process in the time ahead. Since then the centres for independent living have contacted the members of the joint committee and have addressed it outlining their profound concerns. Profoundly disabled people were present for the hearing. I appeal to the Minister of State to ensure there are no more cuts for disabled people. We cannot go back to the days of institutionalisation which cost the State more money. I appeal to her to resolve that issue.

I have two abiding memories of all the years I have canvassed as a candidate in elections. The first was in a rural area of north Donegal and driving through windy roads and eventually arriving at a farm. When we got to the farmyard the woman of the house, an incredibly positive person, was tending the sheep. She went into the house but I was not aware of what was ahead. Her husband had been paralysed in a car accident many years before and her father-in-law was elderly and almost immobile. She was looking after her husband and father-in-law and the farm. When leaving the house, after meeting this remarkably positive woman, I was informed that her sons are the pride of not just that family but the entire community. This woman was a carer of two men who were incapacitated and looked after a farm.

I remember an incredible woman in her early 80s closer to my home place, Buncrana, in the Clonmany area. Her foster son, a talented young boxer in his early 20s, had been paralysed. The doctors told her there was no hope of a recovery and that he would be in a vegetative state. Given her love and affection, she took him home, looked after him and nurtured him. He was able to communicate by typing words. Every one of us, irrespective of which side of the House we are on, is a decent human being and we want to do the best for our communities. The memory of those two women will always be with me. I know there are many similar stories.

We cannot fail carers of disabled people, we cannot let them down. Whatever has to be done we cannot fail such people. In all sincerity we need to have a threshold of decency in terms of what point we get to and we need to ensure that people who are profoundly disabled and their carers, people who need our support as a Republic, are given their independence and dignity in order that they can be productive citizens. Does it really matter if one is economically productive? If one can be there for one's family that means a great deal.

We have had too many cuts. The Government needs to do much more. The previous Government put in place cuts of 10% in the income of people with disabilities, including a cut to the blind person's allowance, cuts to grants for housing extension, cuts in health, education and so on. Those cuts will have to be reversed. I repeat again there will have to be a threshold of decency. Whatever our political perspectives in this House, we are decent people. We would not have been elected if we were not decent people. We have the support of our communities to come to this House. We need to ensure we do not fail disabled persons any more. We must ensure that those people in wheelchairs who had been empowered and are terrified at the idea of going backwards, are not impacted further.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I understand Deputy Michelle Mulherin is sharing time with Deputies Michael McCarthy, Joe McHugh, Eamonn Maloney, Robert Dowds and Liam Twomey. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Freedom of choice is a fundamental principle underlying our autonomy and dignity as persons. Our ability to decide for ourselves is cultivated early in our lives, before even the age of majority is reached, according to our laws. This ability can be impaired by any number of disabling agents as well as how we are born; these might include illness or accidents. Therefore the need for assistance in safeguarding our autonomy is far reaching. This is an important job for the State to support as much as possible each citizen in self-determining his or life and realising the unique talents and potential which lie in each and every one of us, with due regard to the common good.

However, we are not all the same, which is why we make special provision in our social welfare, education and health systems, and through our public physical infrastructure for people with disabilities who find that mainstream services do not accommodate them. This is how, as a Republic, we demonstrate value for all our citizens and, as a society, espouse more than merely survival of the fittest for our people.

In these challenging economic times people who are rendered vulnerable because of a disability and their families can be fearful of the ramifications for them of cuts to budgets. Without doubt, it is a very delicate matter for Government to maintain supports in the face of the financial pressures we face and the stark choices to be made. It could be said that the wisdom of Solomon is required to make decisions on so many competing public interests that face the Government. However, I know that the need to protect vulnerable people is at the heart of decisions on budgets and policy. In the case of the Minister for Health and the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, who is present, decisions that have to be made on people with disabilities cut very deep and are very difficult for them, but they work to overcome the obstacles while still protecting the vulnerable.

The fears I mentioned were very much in evidence during the recent abolition of the mobility allowance scheme and the motorised transport grant, which came about as a result of the illegality identified in their operation. The Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen, the Minister, Deputy Reilly, and departmental officials are working hard with disability representative groups to find a solution. It is highly irresponsible for some Opposition politicians to imply that people with disabilities are being attacked and this is some grand Government master plan. The Government has ring-fenced €10.6 million for these schemes until a solution is found. This is evidence of the Government's bona fides in this matter - the money, in effect speaks in this case. The Government will not renege on the need to support financially the transport of individuals who cannot walk. People who are fearful in this regard can rely on this as a fact. I know the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, will reassure the House later.

I condemn the scurrilous way some Opposition politicians have raised fears among the vulnerable for their own political advantage. It would pay them better to offer practical solutions as to how the legal difficulties regarding these schemes could be overcome in order to address the issue. Fianna Fáil Members presided over this problem for years even when there was money in the public purse available to spend.

As a backbench Government Deputy, I know we have our own mechanisms for discussion through our parliamentary party and feeding right up to our Ministers. With the myriad of problems presenting and the demands on the public purse, at the heart of Government decision-making is consideration for the most vulnerable who are those with disabilities and the elderly.

Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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I agree with Deputy Mulherin's comments on the expressions of feigned interest in what is happening people's livelihoods from the architects of the ruination of the Irish economy. They come in here day after day giving out about measures that have to be implemented partly because they authored them and partly because of the mess they created. The Government now has to go down a road of difficult decisions to get the economy working again. In addition to being populist, they are almost as fictitious as that scene in "Dallas" when Bobby Ewing was inside in the shower and the previous 12 months are just forgotten about. That almost ruined "Dallas", but that is exactly what the Fianna Fáil spokespersons are doing at the moment. All of a sudden the last couple of years have been a dream and they are now back to fight the good fight for those on whom they inflicted economic misery and hardship. It is the Bobby Ewing moment and they barely let an opportunity go by without trying to inflict that type of mirage on the rest of us.

I pay tribute to the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, who for years has been involved with disability groups, has been an advocate for people with disabilities and has engaged with people in organisations that support people with disabilities when it was neither politically profitable nor popular. As a Senator I recall her, as an Opposition Deputy, in meetings with groups working out strategies to formulate policies that she could bring to the heart of Government if she were ever appointed. Thank God that appointment was made. I record my appreciation of the unstinting commitment of the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, to the disability sector for years.

The programme for Government includes a commitment to publish a realistic implementation plan for the national disability strategy. In line with that commitment the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, is personally chairing a new national disability strategy implementation group. She has also convened a disability forum to ensure the voices of people with disabilities are being heard. The first meeting of the forum, which was attended by over 300 people with disabilities, their carers and their family members, was held on 19 June 2012 and a report of the views expressed will be published shortly. That report will form part of the considerations of the implementation group. That is not just a report from the coalface, but a report with an implementation follow up and an action plan.

The HSE has embarked on a national programme on progressing disability services for children and young people to address variations in service availability and to ensure that services for children with disabilities are provided in a more equitable and consistent way. A few months ago, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs introduced the wording for the children's rights referendum and the Government along with other parties in this House campaigned to put children's rights into the Constitution. The welfare of children, including children with disabilities, is at the heart of Government policy in terms of planning a strategy to protect young people with disabilities. It is underpinned by a commitment to the welfare of children that will now be enshrined in our Constitution, which is a very welcome development.

As part of political reform, we now have one day each month allocated to introducing backbencher legislation. This month I was delighted to have been selected to introduce the autism Bill which was met with universal approval from all spokespersons in the House, not least the Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, who gave a commitment to implement it. The Bill passed Second Stage in the House and was universally supported. I acknowledge the support from all parties and none - we also had support from Technical Group Members. That is very important in devising a national strategy for adults with autism. It was an historic day in the House to see universal support for a Bill introduced by a Government backbencher. It augurs well and was a very good advertisement for parliamentary democracy when it functions as it should do.

Some people scoff because they do not want to acknowledge this. Given that the country was landed into the middle of an economic mess by the incompetent mismanagement by the gentlemen who sit to our left, maintaining basic social welfare rates in the budget was a significant achievement. One of the payments that was maintained was the disability allowance. The Government also maintained the household benefits package and the carer's allowance. Maintaining that was a difficult day's work, but has been achieved. It is an indication of the Government's commitment to people with disabilities.

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important matter. I acknowledge the role of the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, since taking her position of responsibility. I equally acknowledge the enormity of the challenge she faces.

In the brief time available to me, I am not in a position to go into those wide-ranging challenges. The real difficulty lies in addressing the separatist approach of the past to disability. During the debate on the recent change, as enunciated by the Attorney General, in relation to the motorised transport grant the focus was on it being a health issue. As I understand it, it was a transport issue. There are issues around progression for people with disabilities which relate to education. We need an all encompassing approach to disability. People with disabilities do not want to be treated differently rather they want to be treated equally. The phrase "all different, all equal" comes to mind. This is where the real challenge lies. I understand the Minister of State, Deputy Lynch, is trying to address this and is doing so well. It is a major task in these challenging economic times. The current model is an elongated cumbersome one which requires a lot of money. We must be creative in terms of how we integrate the services we provide, including by challenging cultural activity within training centres such as FÁS. It is not enough to just provide a ramp or toilet that is wheelchair accessible, we must break down the cultural barriers. It is not enough to point disabled people to the Internet where they can check out courses by places such as FÁS and so on. We must do much more in terms of breaking down the cultural barriers in regard to how we treat people with disabilities, pigeonhole them and how we at times, in trying to give them a leg up, patronise them.

I have previously spoken of my relationship with a person with disabilities living in my county whose tenacity and courage in terms of the journey he is on, I admire. He has moved from being in institutional care in Dublin to a Cheshire apartment in Mayo, a Cheshire apartment in Letterkenny and finally his own independent unit. That journey is expensive. He now also has a job in the postal services of LYT Letterkenny. He has gone on a massive journey. People with disabilities have the insight and can bring us along on the next part of the journey. We must replace the separatist approach of the past, a model that has been cumbersome, financially dependent and not economically sustainable and to involve disabled people in this process.

I understand a think tank has been established following the motorised grant situation to examine how the €10.2 million allocation - which is welcome - for the disabilities sector can be ringfenced and the evolvement of a new motorised grant in the next phase. We need to involve people with disabilities in this process. We should not take for granted that the umbrella organisations will do this. As legislators, we should ensure engagement between the Disability Federation of Ireland and communities. These are the people with the ideas. People with disabilities often not only live the nightmare of having a disability but also the reality of having a disability. Their wisdom, insight and experience is paramount in terms of how this conversation moves forward.

Eamonn Maloney (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I listened last night to the introductory contribution on this motion by the Technical Group. I share the view expressed across the House last night and this morning that we should all aspire to protect the rights of the disabled and to improve the benefits of which they rightly avail. I am glad to say that is a common aspiration across this House. While I agree in principle with the motion, I believe some of the contributions made last night, which were outside the substance of the motion, were rhetoric that could have been left out of the debate. If we are serious about addressing this issue we should approach it in that way irrespective of on which side of the House we sit.

Ireland is virtually bankrupt and is operating on a day-to-day basis with the generosity of its European neighbours who give us €41 million per day to pay salaries, including mine, and the benefits for people with disabilities and social welfare recipients in general. I commend the Minister of State, Deputy Lynch, on securing €1.5 billion for the disabilities sector this year. I admire her commitment in securing this funding. I am sure that like me, she and the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, share the view that in better days we will be able to not only restore many of the benefits for the disabled but improve them.

I would like to comment on some of the contributions made last night. I have noted that many of the motions which have come before this House included the signatures of people who propped up the previous Government which ran this country into the ground and caused the financial difficulties now being experienced. It is dishonest to say to any sector that a budget could be introduced without affecting all sectors of society. This is what has happened. It is dishonest to pretend that one sector can be ringfenced in circumstances where this country is bankrupt. To pretend otherwise is dishonest.

Like others, I look forward to the recovery of this country and to the restoration of benefits and enhancement of the rights of disabled people when we are in a better position.

Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Like Deputy Maloney I too look forward to a time when rates, in terms of payments, can be restored to people with disabilities and people generally, including those unemployed and so on.

I commend the Minister of State, Deputy Lynch, with whom I have attended meetings with disability groups, on her commitment to tackling disability, which commitment is recognised by all the groups involved. There is no split between them in their conversations in relation to the Minister of State. We are fortunate to have a Minister of State who commands the respect of those with whom she engages.

Having worked in a school for people with physical disabilities, I come to this debate with a great deal of experience of dealing with disability. I have witnessed the difficulties under which parents of children with disabilities and the children operate.

There is no doubt many disabled people and their parents operate in an heroic way in overcoming their difficulties. As a society we could do more to help people in this situation and I praise our local authority in south Dublin which makes a particular effort to include many people with a diverse range of disabilities in its staff. This is not sufficiently taken up by business throughout the country.

Part of the reason we are discussing this is because two elements of the disability allowance, namely, the means-tested mobility allowance and the motorised transport grant, have been declared illegal. It may be controversial to say so, but where money is short it is better that younger people rather than older people are prioritised. I am moving into the older category myself, but younger people have more of their lives in front of them. I hope we will be able to come up with a legally accepted system. As a general principle, younger people should take priority over older people.

It is well worth noting that the Government provides a wide range of services to people with disabilities, including residential services to 9,000 people, day services to 22,000 people, respite residential support for 7,500 people and 1.68 million personal assistance and home support hours. The cuts to disability funding which have been made during the recession are very difficult and should always be a cause of concern for us.

We know the cuts to the mobility allowance and the motorised transport grant were made because they were seen to be illegal under the Equal Status Act. These payments will continue to be made to those already in receipt of them until the end of June as the Government devises an alternative legal method to meet people's needs. I hope we succeed in coming up with something satisfactory. I welcome the fact the Government has already established a review group to examine the entire area and come up with recommendations by the end of May. It is also important to stress the Government has committed that the €10.6 million spend on the mobility allowance and motorised transport grant will be spent on the solution identified by the review group.

The Government has also taken other positive steps in the drive to provide a better quality of life for people with mental and physical disabilities. I commend in particular the commitment to publish in the coming weeks the assisted decision-making (capacity) Bill. This legislation is long overdue and will help to remedy a set of laws on mental illness and impairment which belong to the Victorian era. It will safeguard the rights of those who are unable to make decisions for themselves and provide a framework for assisted decisions. This is very welcome and long overdue. I also welcome the moves under way to begin HIQA inspections of residential homes for people with disabilities. It has troubled me these were not included in the initial list of places which HIQA had a mandate to inspect given the vulnerability of this group of people. I have no doubt HIQA will do a very thorough job in inspecting these residential homes.

Last night I heard Deputy Ó Cuív speak on this subject. I have no doubt he, like the rest of us, has real concern and empathy for people with disabilities, but it is very difficult to listen to comments from Fianna Fáil given the huge problem they put on the shoulders of the Irish people, most particularly by accepting the huge debt from Anglo Irish Bank and the like. This is what really makes it so difficult for us to deal with the issues we are faced with today.

Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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From meeting people with disabilities on an individual and organisational level I know that in recent years they have felt let down and, to some degree, isolated. This is very much because they have seen a reduction in services. They are very aware of the resource issue, and they are more aware of it and the concerns it raises than some of those who comment on the issue in the House. Many of the problems we experience are communications problems, with regard to explaining to people with disabilities and their organisations what is going on.

Much of what has happened for people with disabilities in the past decade has very much been driven by disability organisations themselves. We have a very good Minister of State in Deputy Kathleen Lynch, because she has great empathy with what is going on for people with disabilities. She is honest about what can be achieved and about what we must try to do. For this honesty to come through we must ensure that resources intended for the disability sector arrive there. In recent years many service plans drawn up by Departments are not necessarily implemented in the way we voted for them. This issue has been raised time and again. It is particularly prevalent with regard to the HSE, where funding is given for a specific service but it is not used for that service. We often find out mid-year or towards the end of the year that money has been diverted somewhere else. This must stop. If money is allocated at budget time for a specific service it must stay with this service. Ministers and Ministers of State must ensure funding stays with the service for which it is intended. Funding for disability services is significant at €1.5 billion, but with such a huge amount of State funding and a number of voluntary and State organisations involved, one can see how funding can be diverted. We must focus on ensuring what we say we will do in service plans is what we do, so we remain honest with people with disabilities and we keep their confidence and trust that we mean what we say when we try to provide services for them.

Nobody can deny that huge changes have been made over the past two decades in how people with disabilities can access services, education and work. I have seen it in my work as a doctor. We still have plenty of scope, even with limited resources available at present, to do a hell of a lot more. The Government is very much focused on rights-based services. We are not only trying to build this for the duration of the Government, but we are trying to hardwire it into the thinking of everyone involved in implementing legislation and policy. This needs to remain our focus.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I call Deputy Joan Collins who is sharing with Deputies Tom Fleming, Stephen Donnelly, Thomas Pringle and Seamus Healy.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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During the debate I have heard comments that this side of the House is not practical with regard to ringfencing or protecting certain areas. It is the responsibility of the Government, particularly during times such as those we are in at present, that certain areas are ringfenced such as DEIS schools, education and disability services. These are services for the most vulnerable in the community who need support. The mobility allowance has been targeted as part of the continued diversion of State money into the bank bailout. This is what lies behind the Government's decision to cut the mobility allowance to approximately 4,700 people and the cut to the motorised transport grant for approximately 300 people at an annual cost of €10.6 million rather than extending these benefits to those aged over 65.

When the Ombudsman referred to the Equal Status Act, I do not think she meant its remit should be cut or finished. She wanted to see it extended to the over-65s and said that any reference to 65 years should be taken out of the legislation in order to allow it to be extended.

On 27 February, the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, said that extending the scheme to the over 65s would cost between €170 million and €300 million, but those figures sound as if they have been made up. How could a scheme costing €10.6 million per year for approximately 3.1 million people aged between 14 and 65 cost €170 million for those over 65, which is a cohort of approximately 550,000? It does not make sense. How could a mobility allowance and a motorised transport grant for the older group, which is about one sixth the size of the 14 to 65 age group, cost 16 times more for those over 65? That does not make sense either.

On what basis is that figure calculated? Is it an annual cost for those over 65? Does it include everybody with any kind of disability or those with mobility difficulties? If we extrapolate it from the number of people under 66 currently in receipt of a mobility allowance and motorised transport grant, approximately 900 people over 66 would be entitled to these benefits on that basis, thus costing around €1.9 million annually.

If we say that the rate of older people needing help with travel costs is twice the rate for the younger age group, the annual cost would be approximately €4 million. If the rate for the older group was five times that of the younger group, the cost would still be less than €10 million a year. How therefore can the Minister of State and the Government say that the cost of extending the existing benefits to people over 65 will be an extra €170 million to €300 million? It does not make sense.

The reality is that the Government's prime concern is the cost of these benefits. This is explicit in a statement from Dr. McLoughlin and the Minister of State which said that the commitments to provide services are now secondary to the bank bailout. The commitments in the programme for Government are meaningless. Fine Gael and Labour declared that they would put in place a plan for implementing a national disability strategy but after two years in Government there is no sign of any plan other than cuts.

Three weeks after the abolition of the mobility allowance and the motorised transport grant, the Disability Federation of Ireland's representatives say there has been no contact with them on this issue. There are no indications of alternative benefits from the Government or how they intend to provide benefits to those over 65 who need them.

The Government's strategy is supposed to include people with disabilities in mainstream social life, including employment. People with disabilities have extra costs associated with travel and the mobility allowance recognised that. These benefits helped people with disabilities to avail of transport networks and thus have access to the wider community. It is no good having disabled-access train carriages if people cannot get to and from the station. Cutting the mobility allowance or restricting access to these benefits will reduce the incomes of people who are already being squeezed. People on about €10,000 per year will have the extra €2,500 to help pay for travel costs taken away if these benefits are not restored.

Yet there was no problem in ensuring that AIB and the Bank of Ireland got almost €25 billion stop them from going bankrupt. They are now hounding people for unaffordable mortgages, while the chief executive of the Bank of Ireland, Mr. Richie Boucher, gets over €830,000 per year. The likes of Bertie Ahern gets a pension of over €150,000 along with the other 30 ex-ministers who will receive pensions of well over €100,000 each this year. There is never a problem in ensuring that the highly paid and wealthy are paid out of the State coffers, but when it comes to those in need there is a question.

I wish to make a particular point about the sensitive personal medical approach that is supposed to be pursued in future. I have already raised the case of a person with disabilities who is in a Storm-chair, but the HSE bureaucracy is unbelievable. He got his chair and all the adjustments but he cannot get the HSE to provide lights for it. He works, travels and goes out at night, moving around quite well in the community but due to the lack of required criteria, the HSE will not put lights on his chair. He cannot put the lights on himself because he is not allowed to tamper with a HSE chair. That is the madness we are in at the moment. It is crazy but there are alternatives.

Two weeks ago, the top 300 wealthiest people in this country improved their wealth, on the back of austerity, by €3.6 billion. They are now worth €66.6 billion while ordinary people are being threatened with cuts like this. If we put a 10% tax on the top 300 people's wealth we would get €6.6 billion into the State coffers to be able to protect people with disabilities. Those are the alternatives we should be looking at because €6.6 billion is just couch money for these people.

Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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I will start on a positive note. In recent years, a new direction has been brought about by a number of policy developments concerning disability. The most notable of these is the national disability strategy which reflects the social partnership agreement Towards 2016 and various programmes for Government, including the current one of 2011. These developments will impact on the work of voluntary disability organisations and on people with disabilities. We need to grasp the opportunities that are available so that people with disabilities can benefit to the maximum extent from commitments made through the national disability strategy, which will run until 2016.

Unfortunately, however, we must now do so in a very different economic context - one in which the level of funding for priority services for people with disabilities continues to be reduced. There is an escalation of the concept of providing disability services to a greater extent in the mainstream context. In addition, there is a huge dependency on the voluntary sector. The aspirations in Towards 2016 include long-term goals under the national disability strategy. According to the strategy's mission statement

Every person with a disability will have access to an income which is sufficient to sustain an acceptable standard of living. Every person with a disability would, in conformity with their needs and abilities, have access to appropriate care, health, education, employment, training and social services. Every person with a disability would have access to public spaces, buildings, transport, information, advocacy, other public services and appropriate housing. Every person with a disability would be supported to enable them, as far as possible, to lead a full and independent life, to participate in work and in society, and to maximise their potential.

Due to a major cut of 56% to Kerry County Council's housing grants recently - which is the highest reduction for any council in the country - terminally ill patients, the elderly and the disabled who are in need of basic facilities such as downstairs bathrooms, walk-in showers, stair-lifts and ramps, are deprived of support for any such basic entitlements. Grant applications have been halted and the council is unable to cater for long-standing applicants who have been approved but, unfortunately, cannot proceed.

I plead with the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, and also with her senior Minister, Deputy Hogan, and the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, to ensure that this matter will be addressed, perhaps with contingency money that I understand may be available. I ask the Minister of State to put these matters at the top of her list to be addressed as soon as possible.

I urge the Government to revisit the contentious issue of the mobility allowance and the motorised transport grant. This contravenes Irish and international policy on including people with disabilities in society. It also flies in the face of the adjudication on the issue by the Ombudsman, Ms Emily O'Reilly. The Government will have to act with haste in tabling a resolution before the summer recess.

A high number of disability allowance applications are refused. Many valid cases are appealed but it can take up to 18 months to obtain an adjudication. Statistics show that on average about one third of the original refusals are eventually successful. This begs the question about the success rate following all the re-evaluations and assessments.

Were it not for these applicants' persistence over such a long time, they would have been deprived of their rightful entitlements. This also poses the question as to the number of worthy cases who do not pursue this lengthy process. Were they to do so, perhaps their applications would be granted but many of them simply give up.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy and call Deputy Donnelly.

Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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I ask the Minister for Social Protection to address this matter.

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent)
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At a time like this, one must wonder what is the point of this Chamber. Deputy Finian McGrath has tabled an extremely important motion before the House with the support of many Members in the Technical Group. As I look across the Chamber, I see the Government's overwhelming majority is represented by a single highly capable Member, namely, the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan. No senior Ministers or Government Deputies are present. I wonder what those in the Gallery think of the sight of a bunch of Deputies standing up and talking into the air on an issue as important as disability and the cuts to the disability sector. Each one of these empty seats costs the people of Ireland approximately €250,000 per annum and standing up here right now, it comes as no surprise to me that the citizens of Ireland have increasingly less faith in their elected representatives.

Nevertheless, the motion before Members is extremely important and I congratulate Deputy Finian McGrath on bringing it forward. His motion does three things, namely, it recognises the scale of support provided by the disability sector, highlights the variety of cuts that have been imposed on that sector and calls on the Government both to reverse one recent decision on the mobility grant and to honour its commitment to treat people with disability in this State with the respect and dignity that is their right and which they deserve. Deputy McGrath's motion points out that 13% of the population is coping with a disability, that one person in 25 is providing unpaid care to people with disabilities and shockingly, that in Ireland, one carer in 50 is under the age of 15. However, since 2008 the sector has experienced a 14% cut in funding. When one factors in inflation, this equates to a 20% cut in real purchasing power for the sector. In this context, many organisations have 85% of their budgets locked into pay and pensions and under the terms of the Croke Park agreement, not only can they not replace their staff but they must award pay rises. Consequently, service providers are being hit with huge cuts and must take them all from 15% of their budgets. The result, as every Member is aware, has been huge problems for both the service providers and more critically, obviously, for those whom they support.

The most recent cut has been to the mobility grant. I accept the Ombudsman's finding and that the Government must act. However, as Deputy Joan Collins pointed out, the figures are spurious. I examined them and at present the two grants, namely, the mobility allowance and the motorised transport grant, cost approximately €10 million per year. For example, in 2011, the cost was €10 million. According to the Government, extending these schemes to include those who are over 65 could add a further €300 million. In other words, the cost would increase from €10 million to more than €310 million, which sounds pretty dodgy to me. However, the numbers nonetheless are large and there is very little money available. Consequently, I accept that any response must be taken seriously and must be done in a careful manner that does not incur an annual cost to the State of €300 million. However, it is unacceptable to cease the current grant, which costs less than €1 million per month, while trying to figure out what the new scheme should be. There is no reason the Government could not have simply continued it before introducing the new scheme. I do not doubt the commitment of the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, and have heard her speak with passion and expertise on the issue of disabilities in this Chamber many times. However, she is not a full Minister and when one looks at the cuts that have come and the way in which they have been imposed, one cannot but conclude that the disability sector is not receiving the priority it should from both the present Administration and its predecessor. The choices we make in crisis will determine our character as a nation. It is easy to give out money when there is lots of money around and when one is borrowing too much of it. That is easy but the choices we make now will determine our social values. At present, history will look back on this Dáil and its predecessor and will state the elected representatives of the people chose to take money from disabled children at the same time they paid tens of billions of euro to professional financial investors. The present Government can still change this and still has time to do so. That is the choice it faces and I hope the Taoiseach, the Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, will do everything they can in this regard.

I will use the time remaining to me to make a special plea for St. Catherine's Association, Wicklow. It provides a phenomenal service to the people of Wicklow and recently was obliged to put 58 staff on notice, which will have extremely serious consequences. The Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, has been engaging in good faith with me and the other Wicklow Deputies on this issue and I have a request I wish to put on the record on behalf of that institution, namely, that the funding for the 58 staff be provided until the end of the school term. I appreciate that things must change and there have been governance issues. Moreover, I acknowledge this is not the fault of the HSE but taking out those 58 teachers mid-term will cause a great deal of distress and disruption to the pupils therein. Consequently, my request is that until the end of the school term, emergency funding be provided that allows the school to continue. This would minimise any disruption and would give the new board time to come up with a new plan.

Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
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At the outset, I pay tribute to Deputy Finian McGrath for the introduction of this Private Members' motion and congratulate him on the work he has put into placing it on the Order Paper for the House. In a modern society, it is sad that Members are obliged to discuss motions such as this which call for the protection of the disabled, for a halt to the cuts in their income and payments and for help for them to allow them to live independently and to steer away from institutionalisation, as well as calling for them to be given their rights as equal citizens in this land. However, it appears as though this is what Members have come to. Has the Government really stooped so low that it must pinch the pockets of these vulnerable people to pay for the mistakes of the better off? In the recent past, there have been cuts to personal assistance that meant disabled people were obliged to sit out overnight outside Leinster House in protest before the Government reversed that barbarous decision. This was followed by a cut to the respite care grant and now, most recently, by the slashing of the mobility allowance and the motorised transport grants. Disabled people simply are wondering what will be next. In recent days, I received a letter from a disabled person from my constituency who is a double transplant patient suffering from cystic fibrosis. He wrote that he dreaded to see the postman coming or to turn on the radio to hear what will be cut next. The loss of the mobility allowance will mean his ability to live independently will be curtailed severely. Following the decision of the Government to slash such mobility payments, all 5,000 people who are in receipt of them, all of whom have disabilities and need the payments in order to leave their houses, will lose up to €280 per month. This targeting of the most vulnerable people in our society is an absolute disgrace.

It is highly unlikely, perhaps even impossible, that within the next three months, when these payments are due to end, the Government will have devised and implemented a public transport strategy that will take into account the transport needs of all, even those with disabilities. Moreover, even if the review is completed within the next few months, it still will be a long time before changes on the ground become evident. The people who are being targeted in this instance are individuals who are unable to use public transport and for those who need to adapt their vehicles for driving. What are these people supposed to do while the Government awaits yet another of its infamous reviews? For people in remote areas, such as County Donegal, the consequences will be disastrous. I have been contacted by numerous constituents who are worried sick that they will lose their mobility allowances, as well as by some who were about to apply but now cannot and are devastated by that. For them, they will be housebound because public transport, for those who can use it, is non-existent in Donegal, even before one considers those who cannot access it because it is not disabled-friendly. The plan of the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, will neither fix this nor solve this problem. People with disabilities cannot be ignored or neglected.

The Government cannot force people to stay in their homes. It must allow people who are eligible to apply for the limited supports that are available. The Department and the Government have had years to resolve this mess. It is their, not disabled people's, mess to resolve.

The Department must establish a scheme that is legitimate and allows for all people who are eligible to apply for mobility payments to do so. It must retain the personal assistant service and provide the supports, including educational supports, that are necessary for disabled people to be truly equal citizens. It must also adequately support those who are caring for disabled people. Not only does providing the means to allow disabled people to live independently give them a better quality of life and recognises their contribution to our society, it also saves money in the long term compared to the cost of the institutionalisation that would be necessary otherwise.

People who live with disabilities have had to fight all their lives, and their families have had to fight on their behalf. Supports were never easy to access. We have seen the struggle families have had to get domiciliary care allowances. Even mobility allowances and transport grants were not easily accessible for disabled people. They have had to fight constantly. We must build a society in which they are recognised and in which that struggle is seen to be our struggle, and not only theirs. They have had to fight for every support they get.

The Minister has failed to protect and provide for the disabled and continues to target them with savage cutbacks. This is outrageous decision making, particularly by the Labour Party Minister of State who is overseeing this process. I call on all Members to oppose the Government's proposed amendment to this motion and to recognise the rights of disabled people as equal citizens in our society.

Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Workers and Unemployed Action Group)
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It is a pity that the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, has left the Chamber as I wish to draw to her attention a situation that has developed in my constituency of Tipperary South. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, to convey to her the situation which I will now describe.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I will do that.

Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Workers and Unemployed Action Group)
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It relates to the appalling treatment of people with disabilities, service users and staff in south Tipperary. On 28 February last, with ten minutes notice, the Health Service Executive announced the closure of both residential and day services for persons with acquired brain injury. This was done without any consultation with the service users, stakeholders or staff.

The transitional living unit, called Slí Eile, was developed by committed staff, who are continually open to change and have changed over the years. They built the service over the last 14 years since it was established in October 1999. It is acknowledged to be a quality service for people with acquired brain injury. The unit is the only HSE-run unit for rehabilitation services for people with acquired brain injury in the south east. It provides short to medium term residential rehabilitation placements in the community for three people at any one time. The unit is based in Clonmel and aims to be a stepping stone to greater independence for people with acquired brain injury who may possess basic self-care skills but who are having difficulty managing their lives due to cognitive and sometimes behavioural difficulties. The unit's residential service provides a 24 hour support service on the days of operation from Monday to Friday.

Alongside the residential service, the transitional living unit provides a day service from Mondays to Thursdays for people with acquired brain injury. There are approximately 22 service users. The focus of the day service is on social interaction, skills development, peer support, personal development and computer, literary, communication and leisure skills. The unit's residential and day service is staffed by a manager and nine social care workers.

This announcement was made at ten minutes notice and without any consultation with staff on Thursday, 28 February, when the southern senior management of the HSE was on its way to a forum meeting in Cork to announce this decision. The management obviously instructed local management to indicate the closure to staff effectively at the drop of a hat. There was no consultation and no information was given to service users or clients. One can imagine the trauma and distress of service users when this information became available, not directly from the HSE but on the basis of that announcement. The staff have built up this unit over the last 14 years and it is acknowledged to be excellent. The staff have always been open to change and built the unit on that basis. Even at this late stage the staff are open to change in the provision of these services. The decision makes little or no financial sense, as there are few financial savings involved, but it ensures maximum disruption and upheaval for service users.

I ask the Minister to investigate the absolutely appalling manner of the announcement and the conduct of the HSE in making it. I also call on her to reverse the decision. This service is absolutely necessary. It caters for the entire south-eastern area both on a day and residential basis. There are rumours, because no consultation has taken place, that there will be some involvement by Acquired Brain Injury Ireland, but that organisation provides no rehabilitation service. The closure of the service in Clonmel will deprive service users in the south east of a rehabilitation service.

I cannot stress strongly enough how traumatised and distraught the service users are as a result of this. The staff are utterly dismayed with the dismantling of a quality service that has been built up over 14 years and the disrespectful manner in which the life-changing news was conveyed at ten minutes notice. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, to tell the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, about this and to ask that an investigation take place into the manner of this announcement and the conduct of the HSE in this regard. I urge the Minister of State to reverse the decision and ensure that these services are available for persons in the south east with acquired brain injury.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I am happy to have the opportunity to summarise the position of the Government on the motion tabled by Deputy Finian McGrath and the Technical Group. I have listened with interest to Members on both sides of the House, as did my colleague the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, earlier this morning and last night. Indeed, the commitment of the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, to this issue has rightly been recognised by Members on both sides of the House.

The position taken by the Government in doing everything in its power to protect those who are most vulnerable is clear, given the very significant financial difficulties the State faces at this time. It is incumbent on us to find better ways to use the moneys we have available to us to extract the best value for those most in need in our society. That is why, with regard to health services for people with disabilities, the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, spoke in detail about the significant funding of €1.5 billion which is committed in 2013 to meeting the health and personal social care needs of people with disabilities. The Minister of State outlined the major programme of reform being undertaken to ensure we focus our efforts in the most appropriate way in respect of funding for people with disabilities.

Front-line services are the priority for the Government.

The Health Service Executive is committed to keeping the number of personal assistant hours at a level consistent with that provided in 2012. Additional funding of €4 million has been allocated to help find places for the 700 school leavers with disabilities who will require a service this year. Funding of €1 million has been ring-fenced to meet the housing needs of institutions in 2013, and this will enable housing authorities to provide up to 150 new homes in the community for people with disabilities.

We are finding new and better ways to deliver services which will provide choice and control for people with disabilities. It is the Government's firm belief that this is the best way for people to live full lives in the midst of their local communities. The national implementation framework for the value for money and policy review of disability services will pave the way for migration towards a model of person-centred, individually chosen supports and help to implement a more effective method of assessing need, allocating resources and monitoring resource use. As the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, stated last night, choice and control will shift to where it correctly belongs, namely, with the individual and his or her family.

A number of Deputies referred to a so-called postcode lottery in services for children. The Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, acknowledged that services have developed independently and were often established to serve one specific group of children only, resulting in a wide variation in the services available. We are working to resolve this issue on the basis of a cross-sectoral approach.

Consistency, standardisation and fairness are the focus of the HSE in its current reconfiguration of existing therapy resources for children. Our aim is to ensure services are as integrated as possible and targeted to the areas of greatest need. We look forward to the Health Information and Quality Authority's standards for residential services for people with disabilities, which will be placed on a statutory footing this year, with the related registration and inspection regime also set to commence.

Many Deputies expressed concern about the needs of those who have been in receipt of the mobility allowance and motorised transport grant. I reiterate that the decision to end the schemes was not taken lightly and every effort is being made to devise an appropriate solution or solutions to resolve the issues arising. The project group which has been established on a cross-departmental and agency basis includes relevant individuals representing the disability sector whose role is to communicate and advocate for those in need of supports in addition to helping finding solutions. The group's work is well under way and we must allow it to continue in order that the most appropriate solution or solutions can be ascertained. In the meantime, the payment of mobility allowance will continue for a period of four months for existing recipients. I stress also that the funding of €10.6 million remains in place and is committed to meeting the priority transport needs of people with a disability. I confirm also that there is a contingency fund in my Department. I will convey to the Minister the comments made by Deputies Donnelly and Healy on specific facilities in their constituencies.

The new assisted decision-making (capacity) Bill will align modern legislation with the principles contained in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The guiding principles of the Bill reflect the principle of the dignity and autonomy of each individual person and the assumption that the person has the capacity to take decisions unless the contrary is shown. It also acknowledges the freedom of a person to make his or her own decisions. The intention of the Bill is to support specifically the right of all persons to equal recognition before the law. The legislation will replace the existing ward of courts system.

On the issue of constructive engagement with groups representing the disabled, the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, set out the wide-ranging approaches being taken in the national disability strategy's implementation plan to bring together Departments, agencies and local government with the disability stakeholders group, which represents the many facets of living that confront people with disabilities. The Minister of State also noted the role of the disability forum which reaches out to individuals with their lived experience of disability to ensure the widest possible inclusion takes place. The issue of people with disabilities is extremely important, as is clear in the concern expressed by Members on all sides. I assure the House of the concern of the Government for people with disabilities and thank all Deputies who contributed to the debate. I am also grateful for the opportunity to place this issue to the fore in the proceedings of the House.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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While many of the sentiments expressed and assurances given by the Minister of State are positive, those who are affected by disability have reason to be somewhat sceptical about words of assurance. The programme for Government contains noble aspirations and states the Government will "ensure that services meet the needs of users", "facilitate people with disabilities in achieving a greater level of participation in employment, training and education" and "ensure that the quality of life of people with disabilities is enhanced and that resources allocated reach the people who need them". It is extremely difficult to square these positive aspirations and fine sentiments with the shocking decision, which was taken without consultation with those affected, to abolish the mobility allowance and motorised transport grant. Large numbers of extremely vulnerable people are living in a state of anxiety because they fear their quality of life and ability to participate fully in society will be dramatically damaged and downgraded at the end of June when the proposed cuts are implemented.

Representatives of the Centre for Independent Living appeared before the Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions to express their views on the proposed abolition of the mobility allowance and motorised transport grant. They seek an assurance from the Government that individual direct payments will be maintained. No such assurance was forthcoming in this debate. When the Government indicates that alternatives will be put in place in the absence of providing an assurance that these alternatives will be direct, individual payments, people in receipt of these allowances are right to be worried. They want direct payments because they allow them to have a degree of freedom, autonomy and self-determination. It is only by continuing to provide the current supports and enhancing them, as promised in the programme for Government, rather than cutting or downgrading it, as people fear will be the case under the proposed alternative, that the Government can honour the commitments it made and the sentiments the Minister of State has just expressed. Will the Minister of State provide a firm assurance to those who receive the motorised transport grant and mobility allowance that their direct payments will be continued? Those are the words they want to hear. They do not want bus tickets nor do they wish to rely on public transport because they would not have the same level of individual freedom and autonomy as they enjoy with direct payments.

The Government states - wrongly in my opinion - that corporation tax is sacrosanct and we cannot touch the profits of multinational companies. Its position is topsy-turvy. Surely, when one is discussing budgets and resources, the sacrosanct items should be the supports and services provided to the most vulnerable, especially the disabled. Is that not where the Government's priorities should lie? Should it not decide that mobility allowance and motorised transport grants will not be touched regardless of what problems arise? Likewise, should it not state that personal assistants and home help hours to the disabled and vulnerable, funding to voluntary organisations that support the disabled and vulnerable and grants to older people to adapt their homes will not be touched? Those are the assurances the Government failed to provide. They are the items that should be sacrosanct but are not. Many have been cut or, in the case of personal assistants, the Government tried to cut them but was prevented from doing so because disabled people protested and forced it to back off.

Those are the assurances we want, to match the fine words and noble sentiments in the programme for Government. Let the Minister of State match words with deeds.

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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I thank Deputy Finian McGrath for bringing this important issue before the Dáil. I concur with what Deputy Seamus Healy said about Slí Eile in Clonmel. The anger of people in the south east at the closing of this facility is unbelievable. Last week, I took part in a radio show with some of the workforce of Slí Eile. More than 1,700 calls came into the radio station from Clonmel and across counties Waterford, Wexford and Tipperary. People cannot believe the Government has reached the stage of cutting services to the most severely disabled people, those with severe brain injuries. The people who work in the facility are highly skilled. Some of them trained in England in the specific skills of rehabilitating those with severe brain injury. Within the next year, 5,000 people will present at hospitals throughout the country with severe brain injury, adding to about 60,000 people already suffering. Brain injury rehabilitation is a specific service by highly trained personnel. This closure will be extremely detrimental to the Minister of State. I do not think she realises the seriousness of what she has done in cutting this service by highly trained people.

The most vulnerable people in society are those with disabilities and those who care for them. Parents care for their children and children care for their parents. The psychological trauma they suffer is everlasting. A brain injury does not heal so that everything is all right in a few weeks or months. People have to live with brain injury for the rest of their lives. The trauma within a household when a brain injury occurs is dramatic and heart-rending.

In the current economic circumstances, surely it is obligatory for all of us to help those who are most vulnerable in our society. Wherever cuts are made, and even if those of us on this side of the House oppose them, to withdraw services from the people who are most vulnerable is shameful and appalling. Knowing the Ministers of State, Deputies Jan O'Sullivan and Kathleen Lynch, as I do, I know they do not want to do that. It is not in their psyche to do so. The Government must, however, take another look at what is being done and find another way. We can all suggest alternative ways to get the money. The Government is not going to listen to our alternative, which is to take from the rich and from those who are not paying their fair share, but whatever is done, why must services be taken from those who are vulnerable?

These people cannot speak for themselves, because they cannot speak. They often cannot get to a polling station because they are too ill. These are the people who need to be protected by us, no matter what we have to do. There are decent people in all parties in the House. We have all come across people who suffer a disability and the people who work with them, sometimes having to manage them for 24 hours a day. We have seen the love shown by carers and how disabled people are deprived of the simple pleasures in life the rest of us can enjoy. We must offer them something back and give them a little extra, year after year and budget after budget. We should not be cutting at all. The Minister for Finance should be trying to find something extra that would give these people a lift and a better quality of life. That is what they deserve and need.

When we speak about vulnerable people and the most vulnerable in our society, we must put some thought into the families who spend 24 hours a day with a person who has a disability. We must give some thought to the mother, father, son or daughter who will spend the rest of their lives caring for a disabled person. No money can pay for that, but we should not offend these people by making miserable cuts to the mobility allowance or other disability payments. That is offensive to them. They believe they deserve better.

Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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I thank Members from all parties who have contributed to the debate. I particularly thank members of the Technical Group who strongly supported the motion. I listened carefully to the contributions but I also listened carefully to Government Deputies who misrepresented sections of our motion. I will go through those later and respond to the Minister of State.

The motion is about the rights of the disabled as citizens of the State. It is about supporting these people. They were attacked and treated very badly in recent months. Only this morning, following yesterday's debate, I received two letters from parents of children with an intellectual disability. One said:

My daughter has Down's syndrome. You may or may not be aware that currently she will not automatically be entitled to resources in mainstream education. This is because Down's syndrome is not categorised as a low incidence disability. My daughter is a wonderful, bright, curious little girl. She has a right to equal education which supports her reaching her full potential. Please help us achieve that for her and all children with Down's syndrome.

Last night, we heard a lecture from the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, on listening. She was agonising about the issue. People with disabilities have spoken but the Government is not acting on what they have said. They now want delivery rather than being listened to while the services and supports they rely on are being demolished.

Regarding the national disability strategy, the Minister of State talked about listening exercises. A number of her colleagues also spoke about the importance of listening. Let us get down to reality. First, the programme for Government contains a commitment to an implementation plan. We still do not have it in the third year of the Administration. Second, a three year plan was to have commenced in 2013. The previous Government had undertaken significant planning work at official level to prepare the plan. The national disability strategy implementation group was not established until November 2011, at which point the Minister of State said it would take six months to prepare the plan. It has not yet been published and, meanwhile, a number of further deadlines have passed. I understand the finalisation of the plan has been repeatedly delayed because some Departments have not provided their input. It seems that some Departments are not co-operating with stated Government policy. There was still no commitment to publication in last night's speech by the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch.

I am pointing out the reality for people with disabilities. We have had all the listening, all the talk and all the guff. I ask the Minister of State to implement the Government's promise and reverse the decision on the mobility allowance and grant or, alternatively, set up a proper scheme with immediate effect. I also ask the Minister of State to fulfil all the disability related promises in the programme for Government.

Last night, I mentioned figures relating to the intellectual disability sector. An extra 500 respite, day care and residential places per year for four years would wipe out the deficit. The numbers and the amount of money involved are not as significant as people claim. There is considerable potential.

I thank my colleagues for their great support. Many of the people who work with disabled people or in the disability sector appreciate the fact that we have returned this issue to the political agenda. We can discuss economies, bailing out banks and Cyprus, but we must first ensure that we deliver services of the highest international standards to our citizens, including people with disabilities.