Seanad debates

Wednesday, 4 December 2019

International Day of Persons with Disabilities: Statements

 

10:30 am

Photo of Jennifer Murnane O'ConnorJennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday was International Day of Persons with Disabilities and today we recognise those living with disability. This is the 28th year that the world has observed the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. This year's theme focuses on the empowerment of persons with disability for inclusive and sustainable development. The United Nations 2030 agenda for sustainable development pledges to leave no one behind. Unfortunately, too many people in Ireland are still being left behind. The survey on income and living conditions published last week showed that households with people not at work due to illness or disability are particularly vulnerable to poverty and social exclusion.

Almost seven years have passed since the mobility allowance was discontinued and we are still awaiting a new scheme. Progress in expanding personal assistance has been far too slow with the number of hours provided to people with disability considerably short of what is needed. The number of children, whose assessments under the Disability Act 2005 are overdue, has increased by 15% this year. Thousands of children are waiting far too long for essential therapy services and assessments.

The Government has ignored repeated warnings about a funding crisis in the disability sector. The independent review group established to examine the role of voluntary organisations in health and social services found that two thirds of disability services are provided by the voluntary sector. They are enduring a funding crisis and there is concern about the viability of many of these organisations.

Waiting lists for assessments and intervention have been allowed to spiral out of control under Fine Gael and there are serious issues with staffing and access to residential care. This combination is resulting in families waiting months and in some cases years for help.

People not at work due to illness or disability are particularly vulnerable to poverty and social exclusion. The latest data demonstrate that there is no recovery for many people not at work due to an illness or a disability. People with disabilities are not feeling the effects of economic recovery, and have poverty and deprivation rates significantly above the national average. It is imperative that the Government gets to grips with this issue and addresses why the at-risk-of-poverty rate for this group remains stubbornly high and is going in the wrong direction.

The situation is further compounded by the Minister of State's insistence on pointing to the disabled drivers and passengers scheme as a viable alternative and workable support for those with mobility issues. The reality is starkly different. The Minister of State is fully aware that the Ombudsman has raised serious concerns about the equity of this scheme. People with serious disabilities are being told they do not qualify for the scheme due to the stricter criteria. Furthermore, the Minister for Finance has confirmed that he has no intention of changing the criteria for the scheme despite the Ombudsman having raised this red flag with him. I have grave concerns about this and the Minister of State needs to address them.

I ask for the Minister of State's assistance in the case of a young girl from Carlow who was left paralysed from the chest down following a car accident in County Laois last year. She has a severed spinal cord and she will never walk again. Two year old Amira Anne O'Toole Rough is currently in Temple Street Hospital. Her mother, Caroline, contacted me this week as she is at her wits' end over her daughter's care.

Her medical team and her mother differ on the child's treatment and now she feels that her daughter. having been fitted with a tracheal tube against her family's wishes. is trapped without adequate provision for rehabilitation or the possibility of a home care package in her native Carlow because of this intervention.

Amira could attend rehabilitation in the UK but because she has an older sibling he cannot be left at home. Ultimately, Amira's mother, who herself is suffering from post-traumatic stress from the accident, would like her daughter to receive rehabilitation in Ireland.

Currently Amira's family is seeking legislation for children with severe needs such as Amira for the right to have rehabilitation care in Ireland

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.