Anthony Lawlor (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will support this excellent motion. My colleague spoke to the fact that this Government is the first to appoint a Minister of State with specific responsibility for people with disabilities. Although we are discussing eye clinic liaison officers and expanding the pilot scheme set up in the Ireland East hospital group, we must recognise the funding he has allocated for people with other disabilities and the advances made in recent years. I recall that when I was on Kildare County Council in the late 1990s and early 2000s, there was no such thing as dishes on footpaths. When one was crossing at a traffic light, there was no indication for someone who was hard of hearing or sight as to whether he or she could safely cross the road. The awareness that has been raised, and the investment made by this Government and previous Governments, have created a much-improved environment for people with disabilities across the board. It can also be seen in the House, given the number of people with learning and other disabilities who have been provided with employment in the facility, as has happened throughout the country, which must be welcomed.

In view of the fact that a pilot programme has been set up in the east, why can we not extend it to other hospital groups? We would love to have one in Naas hospital, which is associated with Tallaght Hospital and St. James's Hospital. As Senator Conway noted, as we get older we start to lose some of our faculties. I met my brother earlier and, as we passed an optometrist's on our way to a coffee shop, he said he would have to have his eyes checked. If he, in his full faculties, is thinking about that at his age, everyone should do it. I have worked with my colleague and others who have difficulty with eyesight, and my partner does yoga with a woman who has lost vision in one eye, which happened over a period. Our faculties are important and we must take care of them, while the hospital groups need to engage positively with those who are losing them.

I welcome the motion and the opportunity to debate not only the issues my colleague raised but also those related to other disabilities. The Minister of State has the strength to carry the motion through. He might seek to source the necessary funding from within the almost €18 billion budget of the HSE to provide liaison officers in all the hospital groups.