Averil Power (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Members on all sides of the House in the course of that debate expressed sympathy for the people involved and said that they wished the cuts had not happened and that they would lobby Ministers after the event to have them overturned, but the cut stands. All we are asking is that, ahead of the budget, Members put pressure on Ministers to avoid a similar situation happening again.

Other cuts in the past year include the housing adaption grants, which saw funding to local authorities cut by 38% on average. That led to a farcical situation two months ago when Dublin City Council had to close down the grant scheme altogether. It is in the position that when someone has a serious accident or disability and cannot return home because of something simple such as a lack of a ramp, downstairs toilet or guard rails for their showers, he or she is left in hospital instead. That is deeply damaging not only to that person's dignity and independence, but it costs the State far more because the person is stuck in the health system when they would rather be at home. The cuts are in so many ways socially incredibly unfair and economically silly. They simply do not stand up and the Government will end up having to spend more in other areas.

As Senator O'Brien will outline in more detail there have also been huge cuts to St. Michael's House and similar services. I am more familiar with St. Michael's House than other areas because they serve many people in north Dublin and I know that Members will be familiar with other services with which I am not. St. Michael's House has had to reduce its staffing levels across the organisation, including in day services, clinical services and administration. It has been forced to implement a contraction of its residential and respite service and it has had to close its residential day service for one day each month. Elderly parents have spoken to me about that and they have been upset about how they are going to look after an adult child with a disability on that day because they feel that they are not able to look after them for the day yet the person is being forced out of the day service. In addition, St. Michael's House has had its trainee allowance ended and the transport services have been reduced. Due to the huge cuts in its HSE grant, they have had to cut services right across the board.

There have been a whole range of areas in which major cuts have occurred affecting people with disabilities over the past three years. Fianna Fáil accepts fully that cuts must be made. There is still speculation about the size of this year's budget and the tax increases and expenditure cuts needed to reach our target, whether that is €3.1 billion or a smaller amount. Unlike other parties, we are not arguing about the need for cuts. Indeed, I was at a meeting last night in which another former Member of the Labour Party stood up and said that there was no need for any austerity or cuts in the budget, that everything could be rosy in the garden and nobody would be affected. That is not credible. I have never argued that-----