Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Senator Clonan tabling the motion on this very important issue. Sinn Féin believes the measure of any society is how we treat our most vulnerable. We believe in a fundamental baseline of services and supports provided to all, and in services and supports that actively promote a more just, equitable and inclusive society. We can all agree this is not the Ireland in which many people with disabilities live today.

More than 100,000 disabled citizens live below the poverty line. Almost 10,000 children with disabilities have been waiting more than 12 months for initial contact with a specialist team. More than 6,000 people are waiting for a carer to be allocated to them despite being approved. Only one in four of those needing respite services has access to them. This is why Senator Clonan has rightly questioned how we could possibly set about assessing people for fitness to work when we cannot offer basic services to people who have disabilities. Where is the capacity to do this? One would have to ask where are the priorities.

We have a Green Paper on proposals on fitness to work. While Senator McGreehan said it is not definitive it is a working paper that has been put out for public consultation. We all agree that social protection payments need to be reviewed and assessed as we go along to make sure they are fit for purpose. Generally when this is being done it is about being more inclusive and making sure we do not let people fall through the cracks or simplifying the process for people so they do not have to go through the mill and fight the State to get every service they require.

I respect Senator Clonan saying he does not accuse anyone in the room of being a Tory. We have heard much defence of the proposals. This includes that it is a working document and that the public consultation will iron out all of the concerns that people have but we have to look at the context. We have a Taoiseach who in 2016 set about attacking welfare recipients. He held up a poster that stated welfare cheats cheat us all. Recently the same Taoiseach drew parallels between the film "I, Daniel Blake" and "Benefits Street". Alarm bells start going off when we have proposals coming from a Government under this Taoiseach with regard to fitness to work and the deserving poor and those who are undeserving.

I have concerns about who is driving this and what is the agenda behind it. Is it about a system that is fit for purpose? Is it about a system that encourages people who want to work to be involved in the workplace and to live full and independent lives? Is it about trying to reduce costs and cut off people from State payments and services? The concern is that we have a Taoiseach who is very publicly on the record about what he thinks of people on social protection. I am not saying that the Minister is the same but we need to have these concerns put to bed because this is where the red flags come up.

We missed an opportunity in yesterday's budget. We have heard from countless activists and service users who expressed a sense of abandonment. The €12 social welfare increase does little to address the additional costs of being disabled in Ireland. The reality is that it will not even match inflation. We all want to see systems that are fit for purpose but the Minister can understand our concerns when the Head of the Government has put on the record comments that call into question people's eligibility for social protection payments.