Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State started by saying this misinformation was during the summer when the Seanad and Dáil were not in session. The Minister of State can spin it whatever way he wants but I call them cuts and they occurred when the Seanad and Dáil were not available. Last week, Senator Dolan spoke passionately about this. He has a finger on the pulse of the disability sector. There is extreme disappointment that the Minister of State has not acknowledged this will damage a very vulnerable section of society, which he has worked very hard to bring up and make more visible and protect their demands and rights. This does not do anything in this regard and just puts more people in the poverty trap. We know disability is linked to the highest rate of poverty in this country. It pits one section against another. Expansion is needed and not contraction, which is what this is viewed as. Voices in the sector have tried to influence the budget due next week to reverse the cuts and I hope the Minister of State has also done so.