Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I thank Senator Seery Kearney and the Fine Gael Senators for putting forward this important motion. It is well known that the Minister of State is a champion for disability issues. I sometimes think she ends up bearing a lot of this on her own shoulders. A challenge in this space around disabilities and support for carers is that it has to become a whole-of-government approach. Listening to Senator Lombard, I was conscious this is about local governments taking responsibility. I will talk later about the role in education and further and higher education as well.

The big change that has happened is that we should be moving more toward the rights-based approach. Even the moving of disability services from the Department of Health to the Department of disability and integration should really mean something. It means that this motion is not just about targeting the Minister of State and saying what she has to do. It has to be about a whole-of-government approach. All of us in our communities know the important work carers do. Leave aside the important support they provide to those with disabilities or to the elderly. Just think of the economic cost to the State if those carers did not provide those services. It amazes me that the State decides to pursue particular legal cases because it is afraid of setting precedents. If it actually looked at the cost if carers stopped providing their supports, the costs to the State would be phenomenal. I echo Senator Lombard's point about voluntary bodies. The Minister of State will be familiar with the need for respite services in Wexford. She has visited many of them, including St. Aidan's day care centre in Gorey. We still rely heavily on charitable organisations around the country for the provision of respite services. Even though she has championed a significant number of improvements, I think some of the challenges with recruitment and retention will be a problem until we start to link some of the work that is done with public sector pay. If somebody is working in a respite service there should be a direct link with somebody working in the HSE more of less carrying out the same work. Support for carers is not just about financial support. It has to include those wraparound services, including respite services.

I want to touch on something mentioned by Senator Flynn, which is the issue of young carers. I know a number of them and so would others. I am sure the Minister of State has met them. They are people in their teens, or even their early 20s. Because of family circumstances, they suddenly find that they are the carer and the person who has to take responsibility. Some of these young people are incredible. However, it often means that their responsibilities, which they take seriously, are not only at the expense of their own social lives, but they also frequently impact on their education or their training and further and higher education responsibilities. I particularly welcome the provision in the motion for a bespoke programme within the school completion programme, but I think it needs to be more than that. It has to ensure there is a pathway that sends a message that just because you end up being a carer through family circumstances, all of those other opportunities in life will not be denied you. That happens both with the run in to leaving certificate, but the necessary supports equally need to be put in place whether somebody is in further education, university or another higher education institution. I specifically hope the Minister of State might address that issue.