Máire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is trying to do something positive in bringing this strategy before the House. However, given the evidence of previous strategies, I remain to be convinced and I am unconvinced by it. The national disability inclusion strategy is, at best, a naive and half-hearted attempt to address the most serious issues facing people with disabilities. It shows little ambition to tackle the extent of the core issues in a professional and cohesive whole-of-government way. Senator Martin Conway spoke about need for time to facilitate the introduction of the legislative measures required to permit ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. I respect him, his experience and story, but ten years is a long time to wait. To add insult to injury, the Disability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill which is needed to ratify the UN convention is awaiting Committee Stage in the Dáil, yet the strategy indicates the timeframe as being 2017, of which three months remain. The Government is notorious for kicking legislation to touch. Therefore, I have zero confidence that the Bill will pass all Stages in the Dáil or the Seanad this year. The Minister of State confirmed this when he mentioned 2018 and my heart sank. Policies should be coupled with strong legislation. I am disappointed, therefore, that there is no new legislation on services for people with disabilities in the Government's autumn legislative programme.The health (transport support) Bill is there but it has been on the legislative programme before and did not get anywhere. What is to say that it will not have the same fate this time? I fear this indicates that this strategy is another empty Government promise.One of the biggest omissions from the strategy is the lack of any real outline for reducing and ultimately eliminating poverty among disabled people. This is a huge issue and I do not understand how could it be left out of a strategy.

The CSO survey on income and living conditions published in February 2017 showed that 53% of people who are not in work due to a disability or illness experience enforced deprivation. The same survey showed that while there has been some improvement in overall general poverty rates in Ireland, it is worsening among those living with a disability. It is estimated that living with a disability in Ireland can bring extra costs of €276 weekly. The €5 increase in the disability allowance in the last budget was an insult to all those who cannot afford the basics and need to provide for extra costs on top of that. They have minimal opportunities for social inclusion.

I welcome the mention of social housing but sadly, there are no real action plans or timelines. Some 4,500 households who qualified for social housing in 2016, are linked to enduring physical, sensory, mental health or physical disability. That is an increase of 13.7% on 2013 figures. These figures show that the last strategy failed completely and gives no weight or confidence to this renewed plan.

I am Sinn Féin's Seanad spokesperson on health and well-being and I am especially concerned about the weakness of section 8 which addresses transport needs. Access to transport can mean the difference between inclusion and exclusion for people with disabilities. Almost 50% of people living with a physical disability experience difficulty in just going outside the home. I acknowledge that this strategy commits to the improvement of both urban and rural transport and this is welcome, however it is cause for concern that no specific details are provided for many plans regarding how these goals will be achieved. It cannot be the case that the aims set out in this document fall to the same fate as the goals of the previous disability strategy. I urge the Minister of State to take seriously the issue of transport for those with a disability. I know too well the effects that social isolation has on individuals and communities and it would make a real difference if they were addressed by real positive changes in transport.

I congratulate the Disability Federation for its Make Way day which highlights obstacles and physical barriers to them participating in life that we take for granted. Our job in this House is to analyse and scrutinise legislation and to make statements, sometimes ad nauseam, on issues and with that comes the need to acknowledge positives, so it is great to see commitments on joined up working and collaboration, the promised review of make work pay proposals, the commitment to changing the model from one of care and dependency to one of support and independency, and a commitment to Irish Sign Language. The plan also makes commitments to further implementing existing employment strategies. Currently, 31% of working age people with a disability are at work compared with 71% of those without. We should be careful to ensure this must be fulfilling employment.

Inclusion Ireland has said that the plan is short on vision and does not go far enough to address the inequalities. The national disability inclusion strategy has been a long time in development and the final product covers a large number of actions aimed at promoting inclusion, however most of these are vague. Specific time-frames are needed to avoid the implementation failures of the last disability strategy.

The Minister of State referred to the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 and noted it was an major issue. We still await it. I was with an 18 year old young man who is disabled and in a wheelchair. He was in hospital after a shocking diagnosis. After many months, with beds needed in acute hospitals, the only thing that he was offered was a place in a nursing home. He has gone there now and it seems he will be there for the rest of his life. It has torn his family apart. There is nowhere else for them to go. He is only one of 1,200 younger people in nursing homes facing a very bleak future. That is a deprivation of liberty, lack of consent and it is a matter shame for us that we let it happen for the sake of funding home extensions or adaptations or practical community supports.

This is a very important period as the budget is coming up. There will be grappling for everything among everybody. The budget will be a litmus test of the Government's commitment to people with disabilities and I believe a large part of the available spending should go to seriously address the national issue of our disrespectful disgrace. I hope this strategy is the one that will deliver genuine positive change to the lives of those living with a disability but as it stands I will wait to congratulate the Minister of State.