Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senators for their contributions and their genuine interest in the disability issue, particularly in ensuring people with disabilities who are able to and want to work are supported and enabled to do so. As many Senators said, having a job can help secure economic independence, social inclusion and personal fulfilment. That is the reason the strategy for employment of people with disability is so important. I thank Senators Mark Daly, Kieran O'Donnell, Mullen, Devine, Buttimer and Conway-Walsh for their positive suggestions, in particular. I will bring those suggestions to the next meeting of the national inclusion disability strategy at the end of this month. Many of the ideas mentioned today involve the responsibilities of different Departments. I sit in a room every couple of months to chair the national disability inclusion strategy where all the Departments are represented, so the Senators' ideas will be brought there.

My sense is that we are making significant progress on the implementation of the comprehensive employment strategy. The first three years have borne fruit. The collaborative work taking place across Departments and agencies and the resulting achievements are reflected in the 2018 independent assessment of the comprehensive employment strategy, CES, by the National Disability Authority, NDA, and the chairman's independent report, which are available from the Department of Justice and Equality.

With regard to particular issues raised by the Senators, some of the positive, constructive ideas are very welcome. I thank Senator Daly for his work on the Irish Sign Language. He highlighted the important matters of the medical card, the unemployment rate and the number of people working in the public sector. As of two weeks ago, there are 7,000 people with some form of disability working across all Departments and in the public sector. There are approximately 12,000 young people with a disability attending third level colleges. That is a revolution that has occurred over the past 20 years and it is very progressive. The Senator made a strong point about the private sector as well. There are examples of good practice in the private sector, with employers taking on people with disabilities. They are paying them a proper wage and treating them with respect and dignity. That has to be developed and that is part of my job. Senator Kieran O'Donnell has been strongly involved in that process as well.

In talking about that, I pay tribute to the former Senator, the late Feargal Quinn. He had that inclusive attitude as an employer. He had it 20 and 30 years ago. He was very inclusive. I express my deepest sympathy to Feargal Quinn's wife and family and I thank him for the work he did in breaking down barriers to people with disability securing employment.

To return to Senator Daly's point on implementation, it is all very well to have ideas but they must be implemented. I strongly believe that.

Senator O'Donnell referred to prime slots for the debate. I thank the Senators for being present for the debate. I am saddened that more Senators are not present because we must bring disability to the centre of the Government, the Dáil and the Seanad. At present, that is a difficult job for me as Minister of State. I was in Malta recently and met its Prime Minister. He was at the event to ensure that when we were dealing with disability issues, his other ministers were there as well. If a small country like Malta can do it, we can as well. Senator O'Donnell's point about prime slots is very important. I am well aware of the work he does in Limerick and I will be visiting Limerick Institute of Technology, LIT, in that regard. I am also aware of the great work of Martina Neylon and the National Platform of Self Advocates. That organisation is run by people with disabilities. Its national executive is controlled by disabled people. There are no NGOs. I give it some funding to keep it going.

Some Members mentioned the target of 6%. My personal view is that it should be 10%. We are driving towards 6%. Some places have gone above 4%, 5% and 6%. I will refer back to the Senators on examples because figures arrived on my desk recently. Senator O'Donnell also mentioned the internships and I agree they could be extended to the private sector. The disregard of €120 going up to €427 for those on disability allowance was a great help. A number of people have gone into jobs because of that. There is great interest in that issue.

Senator Mullen spoke about justice for people with a disability. That is crucial. When one is talking about equality, one is talking about justice. He raised an important issue which we should seriously consider, namely, the residency issue and discrimination. As far as I am concerned, if a cystic fibrosis patient or a person with a disability is not allowed to stay in a country, it is discrimination. I wonder if the countries are in breach of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. That is something I will develop further. The Senator referred to the Hyde family and cystic fibrosis. These are serious questions not only for Ireland but also for the European Union and internationally.

Senator Devine raised the important fact that there are 643,000 people with a disability in the State. That is 13%. We must make it easier for people with a disability. The barriers have to go. She spoke about the phrase "little or no cost" on page 34 and revising the text.I will say that to the people involved in the national disability inclusion strategy. It is unacceptable for people with autism to receive a service for one hour per day. Everybody has a right to an education. I do not accept that children with disabilities receive home tuition because the service in school is not adequate to respond to their needs. We have to plan services around them, a matter on which I have been working with the Minister, Deputy McHugh. We have to do something about it.

Senator Devine suggested a 6% employment target. I believe in having a 10% target. She asked me to deal with the local authorities. I will do so as part of the national disability inclusion strategy. Representatives of the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment will be there and I will raise the issue with them. It is essential that I do as accessibility is hugely important. Would the Senator put up with it? Would I put up with it? The answer is "no". Why, therefore, should a person with a disability have to put up with it?

I recognise the work done by Senator Buttimer on the issue of disability. He emphasised the need for implementation and mentioned Dáil staff and the Cope Foundation project in Cork, which I have visited on a number of occasions. I have also met the Senator's father who has been very active for many years in the Cope Foundation's facility. He said Cork was the inclusion capital of the country. I would like everywhere in the country to be inclusive.

Senator Conway-Walsh referred to Rehab. It is funded by the HSE and a section 39 organisation. It operates in all nine CHO areas. It provides services under the service level agreement which is signed on an annual basis. The budget allocated to it this year is €56.1 million, which figure includes an additional sum of €1 million from the CHO. There are issues, but we are sitting down to discuss them. We have been talking about them for the past ten days to try to resolve them. We are trying to close the gap between what it is looking for and what we have put on the table. We are due to meet again tomorrow and on Friday. We do not want people to have to hang around. My focus is on the 3,000 people with disabilities. I do not like the bad vibes because they cause stress for the families. I hope we will have a final response for the Senator by next Tuesday. I want a short and snappy deal. I commend the front-line staff who work in Rehab.

I thank all Senators for their contributions and giving me the opportunity to address the House. I will bring all of the issues which have been raised back to the national disability inclusion strategy team, as well as to my own team and the disability organisations. We need to build and develop relationships. There is a strong relationship, but we need to bring mainstream society into line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. We need to understand this is an equality and a justice issue. People with disabilities must be treated with respect. We have started the journey, but we still have a long way to go.