Results 21-40 of 4,601 for speaker:Dessie Ellis

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Role of Disabled Persons Organisations and Self Advocacy in Providing Equal Opportunities under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Implementation: Discussion (8 Apr 2024)

Dessie Ellis: I thank everyone who came here today. We have heard from various different people involved in disability services. It is mind-boggling when you listen to all the different areas that have been addressed. We know that about 20% of the population have some form of disability. That is a huge number of people. I thank Ellen, Jean, Gary, Claire and Derek for their input. A number of things...

General Practice and Local Health Services: Motion (20 Mar 2024)

Dessie Ellis: My constituency of Dublin North-West has a large urban population of approximately 90,000 but it has a severe lack of medical facilities. This area has been neglected for many years and has been badly served when it comes to the provision of health services. For example, there has not been a single GP in the north and west of Finglas for more than 20 years. This alone should make the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Planning for Inclusive Communities: Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (20 Mar 2024)

Dessie Ellis: I have read all the submissions. I was a bit late getting here. I was delayed on an unexpected call, unfortunately. I am curious about the increased cost of funding, especially in the context of housing grants and so on.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Planning for Inclusive Communities: Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (20 Mar 2024)

Dessie Ellis: Yes, for housing adaptations. Is there a plan? The Minister of State said work on a review is at an advanced stage and that he will bring forward regulations to govern the scheme. I would like to hear more about what that means for housing adaptation grants, including those for older people. The Minister of State will be aware that some local authorities implement the grants well and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Planning for Inclusive Communities: Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (20 Mar 2024)

Dessie Ellis: I am talking about council properties specifically. There are some complexes where two units have been turned into one. Are there any further plans in that regard? Many people spend a great deal of time in these places, and it is not really a good environment for them. I hope the Minister of State will give me an idea as to whether anything is being done about that. In the context of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Planning for Inclusive Communities: Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (20 Mar 2024)

Dessie Ellis: They vary so much that it can be frustrating. I also find that when people are being assessed for adaptations to their houses or anything like that-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Planning for Inclusive Communities: Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (20 Mar 2024)

Dessie Ellis: I am also talking about cases involving local authorities. If people have a very good case and want to put in an extra room, there is general opposition and they are told it is not necessary. The standard has been set so high that it is quite worrying when you look at some of the cases that I have seen. The standard is being set far too high. I know of cases where people with three...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Planning for Inclusive Communities: Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (20 Mar 2024)

Dessie Ellis: That is exactly right.

Supporting People with Disabilities and Carers: Motion [Private Members] (5 Mar 2024)

Dessie Ellis: Tá áthas orm go bhfuilim ag labhairt mar gheall ar an tairiscint seo. Tá timpeall 23% den daonra faoi mhíchumas de sórt éigin agus a lán acu ag fáil cuidiú ó chúramóirí. One of the great failings of this Government and those that preceded it has been the disparity between what they say and what they do. Disability services in...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 Mar 2024)

Dessie Ellis: The Sacred Heart Boys National School in Ballygall caters for boys from Ballygall, Glasnevin, Finglas and Ballymun. The school requires two additional newly built classrooms for 12 children with special needs. There is an urgent need for autism spectrum disorder, ASD, units and classroom facilities for children with autism and special needs in the area. The Department of Education...

Child and Youth Mental Health: Statements (29 Feb 2024)

Dessie Ellis: Statistics provided to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs in 2019 showed that one third of young people were struggling with mental health issues on an ongoing basis. My constituency of Dublin North-West is an area that reflects the dysfunction in the provision of mental health services, with a lack of proper resourcing and severe underfunding. Since 2019, when it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: An Inclusive Education for an Inclusive Society: Discussion (28 Feb 2024)

Dessie Ellis: I thank all the witnesses for their input. Based on what Ms Byrne has said there, we seem to be in favour of moving towards an inclusive education system, obviously rights based, which is the right way to go. That brings me to the UN committee that works with states on the implementation of the UNCRPD, which has a view that the progressive realisation of an inclusive education system is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: An Inclusive Education for an Inclusive Society: Discussion (28 Feb 2024)

Dessie Ellis: Yes, that is great.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: An Inclusive Education for an Inclusive Society: Discussion (28 Feb 2024)

Dessie Ellis: That is still going.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: An Inclusive Education for an Inclusive Society: Discussion (28 Feb 2024)

Dessie Ellis: I thank the witnesses for their presentation. It is estimated that 23% to 25% of people have disabilities, generally. I assume that filters down into those of school-going age in a similar fashion. Mr. Kearney stated that there are 3,000 special classes for more than 18,000 children, with 1,800 special classes having been added in the past three years. He stated that the NCSE will lead in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: An Inclusive Education for an Inclusive Society: Discussion (28 Feb 2024)

Dessie Ellis: There are a lot of people coming into the system for whom English is not their first language and who have special education needs. Is there provision to counter that issue for people?

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Feb 2024)

Dessie Ellis: The funding model for play and language support, PALS, preschools needs urgent reform. In its current form payments are delayed, often up to two months, putting many of these preschools in jeopardy with regard to their ability to offer a valuable service to the community. The Minister for Education and her Department need to look at the way the current service agreements are implemented,...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Feb 2024)

Dessie Ellis: The issue is the delays.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Safeguarding: Safeguarding Ireland (21 Feb 2024)

Dessie Ellis: I thank Mr. Cavanagh for his input. As I listened to him speaking about the huge gaps, and when I looked at those gaps, it occurred to me that there are a lot of areas in question and there is a lot to do, whether that is through legislation, the HSE or An Garda Síochána. He said that abuse, exploitation and neglect of adults are happening on a daily basis and that is fairly...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Safeguarding: Safeguarding Ireland (21 Feb 2024)

Dessie Ellis: My own experience of the financial pressure people are put under is of people selling their homes and ending up homeless. It happens a lot more than people realise. They are put under awful pressure from family to sell the house and distribute the money among the family and then they end up in a terrible situation. I agree with Ms O'Connor that the financial aspect is major.