Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House today to discuss disability matters and disability day services in particular. As she highlighted in her opening remarks, difficulties with the provision of disability services arose during lockdown but great efforts have been made to reopen the services. I extend my sympathy and condolences to the 14 families that have lost loved ones. It is incredibly difficult for them to live with that loss now.

There is no doubt that many families, carers and service providers have been incredibly stretched, many to breaking point, throughout the course of this pandemic. We have all heard heartbreaking stories from friends, family members and neighbours of the personal toll and long-term impact of the withdrawal of services from people with disabilities, their families and carers. From mid-March day services and respite services were closed, as were most other sectors of society. While this proved very difficult for many people for a variety of reasons, it is fair to say that people with disabilities were disproportionately affected. I cannot imagine how upsetting it must have been for people who used these day services, who thrived in them, enjoyed their lives, saw their friends and took part in activities to have them stop so abruptly. It must have been so difficult for them, their families and carers.

The efforts of the dedicated staff have been acknowledged. They were working in uncharted territory and providing services in new ways, under new guidelines and in the face of new restrictions. Their efforts were truly incredible but none of us is surprised by the dedication of these workers. They have been doing tremendous work over many years. Their work has been under-resourced and, sadly, undervalued. Unfortunately the provision of these services will not be as it was prior to Covid-19 for some time to come. I welcome the announcement in September that €10 million would be made available to support disability services. I hope that we can continue to increase capacity in the safest possible manner. I also welcome the fact that the Government views the provision of disability services in the same way as it does schools and crèches. The intention that disability services will remain open at each level of the resilience and recovery framework is critically important.

The Minister of State said previously that disabilities are not merely a health issue. People with disabilities have a human right to be considered in every Government portfolio, including health, transport, employment, sports and the arts. We must ensure that every person in society, regardless of ability, is valued and supported in being able to fully participate in society. Day services are an integral part of this and the individual expression of these rights is facilitated by these services in many ways. I hope that we have learned from this pandemic that we must plan to react better to crises. We must have contingency plans in place to give the best supports possible to people with disabilities and their carers during all types of crises. Whether it is the implementation of social distancing or the use of hand sanitisers and face masks, we have all come together to change our actions. Everyone came together to make sure places were as safe as possible so that life could carry on. This shows that when something needs to be done we can react very quickly to enable it so why can we not come together and push for the necessary measures to be put in place so that everything is accessible to those with disabilities who need it? Although future Covid-19 restrictions may not be needed to the same extent as now, accessibility for people with disabilities will be needed forever. Our living with Covid plan may correlate with the need to implement a living with accessibility plan. A sustainable long-term plan is needed for both of these measures.

With millions under lockdown, many non-disabled people are experiencing for the first time how it feels to have external barriers preventing them from participating in everyday life. Ireland and many countries around the world have put policies and practices in place to make public spaces, workplaces and other areas of society more accessible but far too many barriers still exist for people with disabilities. Many of the solutions needed during this pandemic have been requested by people with disabilities for years. If we had already built a physically inclusive and accessible society more could possibly have been done to shorten the lockdowns. Take for example the layout and design changes that help people with mobility issues. If all doors were already capable of opening automatically, it would be easier for people with some types of disabilities to move freely. It would also mean that nobody would have to touch door handles which would mitigate one risk of infection and possibly mean that everyone could get out of lockdown sooner. Similarly, if the gaps between aisles in shops were wider, as they should be to facilitate wheelchair users and others, then everyone would be better able to socially distance. If pavements were wider people could walk past each other with greater ease.

I commend the Minister of State on all of her work since her appointment. She is fully engaged and has fought to ensure that disability services are funded properly. She secured €100 million in the recent budget and all her efforts to secure additional funding have been truly commendable.Her attitude and enthusiasm for change is refreshing. I wish her the very best. Let us hope that in 2021 we can see some light and an improvement and an increase in the capacity of services for all.