Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have been contacted by Ann Marie Flanagan, advocacy officer, and Martin Tobin of the Clare Leader Forum and they have raised many serious issues. From the nature of their questions it appears that we have not moved far from the outdated medical model to the more inclusive and appropriate social model when it comes to people living with disabilities. For a start, they question why Deputy Rabbitte is Minister of State with special responsibility for disability in the Departments of Health and Justice and Equality while Deputy O'Gorman is Minister with responsibility for children, disability, equality and integration. This is a bizarre carve-up of an area that requires the full and singular attention of one Minister. If one were to be cynical about it, the current arrangement allows for endless forwarding of matters for attention from one to the other, which is an impediment to progress and resolution.

They are equally concerned that both are Ministers with responsibility for disability, not the more inclusive term of Minister for disabled persons or people with disabilities. It might sound like something small, but semantics are important. It is indicative of the mindset which places people with disabilities outside the collaborative and consultative framework, as a problem to be solved by service providers. This regressive step was illustrated at a recent meeting of the Special Committee on Covid-19 Response, which heard from the professional lobby of service providers, without one disabled person or disabled people's organisation representing people with disabilities being present. The Clare group wants to be included as equals to contribute to meaningful solutions. Nobody is better positioned to do so.

Martin and Ann Marie express the matter well when they say that the political narrative about their lives needs to move to equality and that we need to disentangle disabled people's lives from service provision. They say

Because of our lives we are more than just service. We are human beings. We have real feelings, dreams and ambitions. We are citizens, adults, parents, children, workers, students, transport users, climate activists, people in need of housing, mortgage holders, users of all health services affected by the pandemic, just like everybody else.

On legislation we have always been behind the curve. We adopted the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2006 but it took us until April 2018 to ratify it. The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 has yet to be fully implemented, and the Disability Act 2005 protects the State's preventing disabled people and parents of disabled children from access to legal recourse if not provided with vital services.

I have a lot more to say on behalf of this very articulate group. I ask that at some stage we provide a space in our timeframe to allow for public consultation with actual disabled people rather than service providers. The disabled people themselves deserve the right to be heard in the Lower House of Parliament. I, therefore, ask that the Deputy Leader and the Leader between themselves find time for this.