Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to make a few points about the issue which is difficult to do in isolation. Senator Moran and others know a lot more about the subject than I do but, for many years, I have participated by providing assistance at the Special Olympics, etc.

I welcome representatives from Special Olympics Ireland here. As Senator Moran has said, we witnessed the entire island make extraordinary things happen by its staging of the most successful World Summer Games in the history of the Special Olympics. In 2003, 7,000 athletes participated in the Special Olympics and they were accompanied by their coaches, families and volunteers. As many as 30,000 volunteers worked at the World Games and many Members of the Houses participated as volunteers. The opening ceremony in Croke Park was unforgettable and I remember all of the celebrities who attended. It was a fantastic spectacle, particularly for the people lucky enough to have a ticket for the ceremony and many millions throughout the world watched it on television. It was a very proud day for Ireland and nobody can detract from the excellent work done by Special Olympics Ireland and its volunteers. The World Games in 2003 egged on many people to become involved and statistics prove that the number of volunteers has increased to quite a few thousand when compared with the number beforehand.

On 21 June Special Olympics Ireland released a press release on funding cuts that was published in The Irish Times. Senator Moloney said that we all must do more with less due to the financial situation and everybody understands that fewer resources are available. I will never understand why we must cut its funding. We need to prioritise certain areas. I have always said that all of us would gladly pay more if we knew that an extra little bit was being provided to the elderly, the young, the most vulnerable and people with disabilities. Instead, those people have suffered consistent poverty and the number of people on disability allowance has increased by quite a percentage over the past number of years. Sadly, despite the great personal commitment demonstrated by the Minister of State, Deputy Lynch, and seen yesterday when she outlined a different type of funding, the easy target always suffers and its funding is put in the firing line when cuts are proposed. I appreciate that the reports in yesterday's newspapers may only be rumours but history shows, for this Administration and others, that the resources available to the areas of disability and mental health tend to be the easy target. That is fundamentally wrong.

In the press release of 21 June the chief executive, I think, of Special Olympics Ireland made the point that there is no plan to close any of the 400 clubs located throughout the country. I hope that closures will not be necessary. The organisation is struggling to make ends meet and funding is difficult to source. I shall try to locate the quote, please give me a moment. The press release mentioned that ten years after the Special Olympics "stark choices" would have to be made. The article continues:

Funding from the State has been cut by 59% since 2008 and this was no longer sustainable.... "We don't have to close down clubs right now but in the next year we're faced with having to make stark choices unless the funding is reinstated."

The chief executive continued: "We definitely need €2.5 million per year regularly to support the programme," and may have to send fewer participants to games. They are looking forward to the Limerick national games but wonder where funding will come from. All of this is happening at a time when fundraising has been increased and people have been generous. Ultimately, the games will become unsustainable unless it gets help.

In the last Budget people in the €100,000 plus category were fully conditioned to pay an extra 3%. The Labour Party held a particular view that did not come to pass, Fianna Fáil held a certain view and so did Sinn Féin. Another budget is due to take place and those earners have been conditioned again and expect to pay more. I do not think that they would have a problem paying more if they knew the money was ring-fenced for people with disabilities or in the mental health area.

None of us wish to politicise the disability sector. There is great support for the excellent work done by Special Olympics Ireland and Fianna Fáil is happy to have an opportunity to comment on that work. I urge people to take the extra step to clearly state that people and sectors can do with less but not the disability and mental health sectors. Deputy Lynch knows that and would approach the funding issue in that way if she were the Minister for Finance.

I do not wish to politicise the sector. However, the cuts that were made throughout the year and the amendment tabled by Sinn Féin make it impossible for my party to support the amendment. Our policy cannot detract from the spirit in which the motion was tabled by the Labour Party. Special Olympics Ireland has done excellent work and I do not want it to interpret my party's policy as detracting from its day here to highlight its needs and work. I join in commending the organisation on its excellent work. Equally, it impossible for my party not to support the Sinn Féin amendment which highlights that the cuts are wrong.