John Dolan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

In July, as we commenced the summer recess, the HSE informed organisations providing rehabilitation programmes that an allowance that had been paid to those starting on the programme was being abolished. There was no consultation or review of effectiveness; it was simply a diktat. The response among students who were getting the allowance was very strong. They know the value and are pressing very strongly for its restoration which will not affect them. Key is the impact on people with disabilities who are just leaving school, moving into a new world of training and, we hope, independence. It also has an impact on people with mental health difficulties, brain injuries and others getting an opportunity to return to work.

The programme is successful. Students grow in confidence and learn to be independent, get a job or go on to further education. These are people who have already had it tough, and removing the allowance is making it tougher. The Minister for Health, the Minister of State at the Department of Health with responsibility for disabilities and representatives of the HSE have all said the savings being made will be allocated to day service. Day service is a separate, distinct and necessary programme; it is not either-or. The Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, said the abolition of this allowance was about equality and equity. We need to remember that the disability allowance is an allowance to keep body and soul together for these people. The rehabilitative allowance is to respect and support the commitment of people to undergo learning to move into employment independence in the community and away from reliance on the disability allowance. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister of State to the House as soon as possible to explain his perverse notion of equality and how he justified robbing one group of people with disabilities to plug a funding gap in this year's budget.

In a related, but more hopeful and joyous development regarding disability, today is Make Way Day. Last week, the Garda assistant commissioner with responsibility for roads policing, David Sheahan, joined the Disability Federation of Ireland to ask that drivers consider the needs of people with disabilities. He went on to make some very pointed remarks. Footpaths are for pedestrians. Drivers who pull up on footpaths are breaking the law as well as blocking the path for people with limited mobility.Someone in a motorised wheelchair must either go home or risk his or her life on the public road getting around a parked vehicle. Neither is acceptable to the Garda. Disabled parking bays are for people with disabilities and able-bodied people parking on them is against the law. These bays assist disabled people in going about their daily business. The Garda roads policing unit will increase its vigilance and lower its tolerance of footpath parking and parking in disabled bays not only for Make Way Day but for all 365 days of the year in support of the campaign.

I commend the Disability Federation of Ireland, the Garda roads policing unit, the local authorities, councillors and a range of public and private bodies who have got behind this. People with disabilities are out on the streets today to claim and reclaim their streets and pavements and to do that freely and easily.

I was not here the other day when the Leader spoke about the death of my beloved brother, Jim, and I thank him for that.